Verdigris Ravine we both knew it was true

little feet scurried down the water-scoured sandstone. overhead, a sharp summer moon cast its cold glow down the ravine below. qiao turned an ear towards the receding patter, her narrow profile illuminated in thin moonlight. 

the crone made her way down verdigris’s  bowels, where dark rushwater spilled out from unseen caverns. she set camp under a gnarled overhang of redrock. here water gently lapped the riverstone studded shallows, and sedges swirled gently from the current.

S'ari was attuned to the sounds of the desert, whether daysounds or nightsounds. She had done her nightly hunting some time ago and had picked a spot to sleep in. Now she awoke from sleep, her ears on a swivel before she was even fully awake. Somewhere, she could hear... skittering. Someone was here, whether a little desert mouse or something larger she could not yet tell. The clinging scent of the others who stayed here with her (Zoug, Mercedes, Kusuma) made it difficult to pick up any new smells.

The skittering sound had stopped. S'ari got up on light paws and wandered, keeping her ears a-swivel for anymore sounds. She released a quiet yip, to see if anyone would react to to it. Such a noise was unmistakably coyote in nature, which would either draw whoever was here closer to her, or scare them away. Normally, S'ari would be much louder and more obvious, but she did not know where the rest of her Tribe were, exactly, or if they were sleeping. So she wanted to stay quiet for now.

cicadas droned in the reeds. riverwater’s soft song went dancing across sandstone. tranquility set deep in this old place, where millennia of history was etched in its impossibly tall arches.

another noise broke the silence; the telltale inquisitive yap of qiao’s kind.

qiao paused from studying the array of worn bones at her feet. kind greetings, hidden traveler.

her olive gaze flicked across the shimmering water, bidding s’ari forth.

Ah, there, across the water! S'ari could see a flash of eyes in the darkness, lit by moonlight for just a moment. She made her way over, trying to splash as little as possible in the water. Coyote greets you, as well, she said, keeping her voice low. This one has found S'ari's home. There are others here, as well, but sleeping. And we do not turn our kind away. All Coyotes are Tribe, yes? Family. This one is welcome here.

S'ari tilted her head, waiting to see what the newcomer would say to this, and then her gaze flicked down for a moment and she found the bones. What do the signs say this night? she asked, without hesitation. All Tribe in her home desert could read the signs--the weather, bones, animal behaviors. If Qiao was not reading the bones, S'ari would be very surprised.

some might find s'ari's affectations exotic. to qiao, it reminded her of home. 

with the sweet draught of nostalgia came darker memories, too.

she stood straight as s'ari skimmed over water. the bones beneath her thrummed, as if pleased to be recognized by an admirer. qiao was troubled by their arrangement. i am qiao. the signs are difficult. they warn me of a fox, her brow furrowed as she bent over their concealed runes. and a hen.

she turned her attention to her kinsmen. you mention others are with you?

Hmm, S'ari hummed, thinking on what Qiao had said. Is the fox eating the hen? Perhaps this is a warning of some kind. But who is the fox, and who is the hen? She glanced around herself, as if the mentioned fox and hen would come waltzing out of the dark and straight toward her. She put the matter from her mind for now, as this was Qiao's reading, not hers, and there was no telling who exactly it pertained to, or when it would happen. Signs were often misleading, and other times downright wrong.

Others, yes, she said. There is Zoug, a male. The others are all female: Mercedes, Kusuma, Candle. S'ari flashed a grin. And then there is S'ari, of course, and now Qiao. Perhaps we will form a harem. She chuckled and shook her head. Marriage was not for her, and neither were little sunlings.

qiao pondered along the same lines as s'ari's outloud musings.

she was certain the hen represented the fat meat of akashingo. but of the fox...

s'ari's rhythmic voice fell in tune with the soft melody of rushwater. she shared the names of each of her kinsmen, divulging gender and the faintest flash of humor. and now qiao. the crone remarked. i will serve no man - perhaps he is the fox i am warned of.

Qiao made no comments of her own about who the hen or fox might be, and it was not S'ari's business to ask. Tribe were left to their own devices where she came from, and advice was only given when asked for it.

She blinked a few times at Qiao's next remarks. Ah... S'ari is afraid her joke might've been taken too seriously. No one serves anyone in the Tribe. There is no hierarchy. And members may come and go as they please. You are Coyote, which makes you Tribe by species. But no one is forced to stay. S'ari only makes Tribe aware of the invitation. Each must decide what to do with it. The rules are these: no lying, stealing, cheating, or fighting. No bullshit. No drama. No take-overs. Troublemakers are driven away. That is all.

could one be coyote without a wry sense of self? qiao listened with a canted ear. the tribe spoke of promising prospect: coyotes banding together in the face of the elements, ungovernable save for their own order they placed there.

it would have appealed to the old crone save one provoking thought: no hierarchy.

that would not do for qiao, who thrived on order and in turn, sought to subtly work the underpinnings of authority wherever she settled. if your tribe becomes a pack, who leads? s'ari was given the full benefit of her attention, from fluted ears down to the perfect way her wind-whipped pelt shimmered smoothly in the moonlight.

The Tribe has mediators, S'ari explained, calmly. A problem arises, yes? So what do we do? We go to a mediator, who helps smooth the problem over. If the problem cannot be smoothed over, someone must choose to leave. If no one can choose, the mediator chooses. But the mediators do not lead. When there is no strife, the mediators are simply Tribe, the same as the rest. Each coyote chooses for themself what they wish to do. Hunt? Sleep? Mate? It is no matter.

S'ari hesitated, realizing for the first time that she had not thought to wonder who the mediators were now, in this new Tribe. S'ari supposes... she is a mediator. The others... they do not know the ways of the home Tribe. So... S'ari is... the only one, for now. She frowned, for she did not like this responsibility suddenly thrust upon her. However, she realized that she had been mediating, in a way, since the beginning. That thought calmed her. Most mediators are older than S'ari, older and wiser--perhaps--but there are no older ones. No one but Zoug, and he does not speak our tongue. So... it must be S'ari.

s'ari spoke of the tribe's culture, where mediator was the gyre that kept the wheel spinning and all egos turning smoothly. she imagined in this tribe that the mediator must be someone of great gravitas -- for few roles in the world were truly more futile than that of navigating the difficult terrain of the heart. if both parties were incensed, logic rarely prevailed.

the tribe as a concept seemed interesting to the spellbinder, but she knew her presence in their ranks would disturb the little peace they'd painstakingly put in there. it sounds as if s'ari is leader by spirit then, whether she likes it or not. the crone remarked dryly while she pulled the bones into their worn deerskin. i can offer my services to the tribe, but if there is no authority, my services would be very limited.

S'ari frowned as Qiao confirmed what she did not want confirmed: she was the leader. This thought twisted her gut, as the idea of a leader at all went against everything the Tribe stood for. Leaders could be corrupt and could corrupt others. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and Tribe was always quick to oust anyone attempting to climb any kind of nonexistent ladder to the top. It had happened before, when S'ari had been very young. One day she'd woken up and several members of the Tribe were gone. One had attempted a take-over and been thrown out, and his followers had gone with him. The memory sat like a rock in S'ari's stomach.

She tried to smile at Qiao's next words. Qiao is Tribe, whether she likes it or not, she said, using the same phrase. All Coyote are Tribe. We will simply consider you... wandering. No matter how far this one goes, if Qiao ever returns here, she will be welcome. S'ari glanced down at the bones again as Qiao put them away. S'ari hopes you find out who is the hen and who is the snake.

qiao knew little of the trouble s'ari experienced at the hands of corrupted power, but it read well enough in the way the tribe-woman's thin visage darkened.

she reaffirmed qiao's place in their world. an irrevocable kinship that sat warm in the empty air between them. qiao was a hardened woman not so easily moved by niceties, but she noted s'ari's generosity with a long and level look.

it is not so bad to be leader. it is how civilizations are founded and empires made -- and how legacies leave their mark in the sands. she hoped to impart this passing bite of knowledge to s'ari before their company came to a close. perhaps the warning was not for me. she lowered her head and supped of the crisp water. perhaps it was for you, s'ari redsand of the tribe.

Civilizations fall and empires crumble, S'ari wanted to say, but for once, she was uncharacteristically quiet. And if the warning was for her, did that make her the hen or the snake? Which was worse? She stared out into the night, lost in thought for a few moments. Somehow, Qiao coming here felt like a bad omen, but that wasn't fair to her. Tribe was Tribe.

S'ari Redsand... she repeated, quietly. Coyote likes that. She studied Qiao as the other dipped her head for a drink. Remember you are welcome here. Even with all your prophecy. Come again. She sat and waited there, seeing the woman off.

Last from me! Thanks for the thread!

A VERY ENJOYABLE THREAD!! a lil skyrim send off for u and s'ari, would love more soon <3

had s'ari voiced her thoughts aloud she would have earned the rare esteem of qiao's laugh -- for she was right. empires faded and cities crumbled.

there was just one splinter, one nagging little facet: men sundered kingdoms, and s'ari redsand was no man.

a thin smile made brief appearance on her muzzle, for she was pleased by s'ari's words. with her belongings gathered qiao measured this woman of great esteem, and ushered a silent protective spell over her head that might protect her against the fox's bite.

thank you, s'ari redsand. ours is to smile at your passing, friend.

with that qiao strode upriver, long limbs churning cold riverwater along the stony beds.