Herbalists' Cache let the drum speak

this is a roll call/strategy thread! sun eater is not for certain that darukaal is coming, but he suspects. since he did not call for war himself and has been filled in on details, he gathers saatsine to speak. we can do single posts or rounds, this will probably be figured out based on response! who he calls is based on IC knowledge, but it is an open thread <3

@Ridgeback @Kekoa @Night Fire @Suliya @Ishmira @Other Shore @Nutuyikruk @Ghelan! for visibility: @Cede @Cetseni @Faliya @Ghenaya @Pikpaksriruk @Yahkone @Caan @Ts'okhun

he leaned heavily upon @Sulukinak and @Meleeys, staggering through the underbrush which had guarded the unsurety of his life and out into the cold slap of air. his muscles would mend or they would not. it was for the spirits to decide.

sun eater would not fall. still stained with dried blood from many hours ago, he stood in open sight, pulling away to stance his own. @Dark Fang he had asked to see over sivaak, but his brother knew the words he would speak.

"i am told war coming. it is not wanted. we caribou hunters with young." a pause, a breath. "i say the sun clan walk far from here. not a home. now danger."

painful. "another of my blood will walk in front. i have chosen place the saatsine go." 

a breath. "but first. i name traitors. gjalla. blackfell. black hawk. challenge me. give insult to my name and to star eater. they call her 'whore.' i tell them not to kill stranger. that is reason. blackfell leave. go to glacier where he have kin. black hawk choose to stay, but no trust. gjalla refuse to leave. we fight. both wounded. i think she too in darukaal."

he took a limping step, gathering himself for the most difficult portion. "am told star eater went to darukaal. left babies. return with blood. not come to me. we have not spoken."

"is she traitor? she does not say. but. now is time to choose if you will stay sun clan and go to place safer, if you will leave sun clan, if you will stand with me. but i not make walk to darukaal. my war is here."

foolish boy, who knew nothing of war, and yet still stood first. he sees the stains of blood on his father's dark coat. star eater absent. the stench of death loomed close.

why do you have to fight them? we could leave them the river. they could keep that damned river. maybe it'll claim some of the traitors if they dare crossing it.

cameo, out of site with other shore.

other shore pressed closer at star eater’s side, warmth against the frost tightening in her chest. unseen, tucked into the shadow of the trees, they watched.
star eater did not flinch at the sight of him, but her tail flicked sharply against the snow. blood still darkened his pelt, his wounds speaking of the war he had begun. her war. she could hear the murmur of wolves, the way his words drifted through the cold air, curling like smoke from the wreckage he had left behind.
when he named them—gjalla, blackfell, black hawk—her ears pinned back. whore. rage simmered beneath her skin, but she did not move. she would not step forward to call herself traitor.
he the one who tried to kill my sister, she murmured, voice low, sharp, for other shore alone. it was good that she had told black hawk to stay at the snow shelter. she could not trust herself to keep her there otherwise.
but her husband spoke of her, too. of her absence. of her silence. as if he had not sought to stain his teeth with the blood of her own kin. as if he had not waged war with his own jaws while she bled for him, for them.
she exhaled slowly, steadying herself. she would not cry for him now. she had done all she could.
he is lost, she said at last, though she did not know if she spoke to other shore or to herself. her eyes remained on him, on the tattered remnants of the man she once knew. and i do not think he will find his way back.

Bracing on one side as best she could, and thankful suddenly for her recent experience with holding up bodies, Sulukinak moved with Meleys as they assisted Sun Eater. It was slow going, and farther than what she would have liked for her uncle to struggle across, but they had to be smart. His sleeping place was hidden; she intended it stay secret.

When he spoke she expected to be a translator, but he did not use the language of the Saatsine, he spoke his broken common and made his knowledge known.

His disinterest in war. His want to leave. Sulukinak knew this land meant nothing to them - they only lingered for the herds and when the herds departed, they would have gone too. That they were now forced to go, and to uproot newborns in the process...

If it was solely Sulukinak's decision she would have filled that den with the children inside. Let the earth claim them, let them feed the caribou and give their strength to the herd. It was clear to Sulukinak that a curse had followed Sun Eater; some intervention was necessary, of this she was certain.

Her focus was upon her uncle and then, looking out to the faces of any who gathered, she looked for understanding among those loyal to their ways - if any even existed, now.

He felt as if he was a drawbridge, linking two warring companies together. Having spilled no blood himself, he supported both sides- but soon felt himself ready to buckle beneath the weight of it all. He feared Sun Eater might see his softness, and burn him for it; Ridgeback knew the man had the power to do so. Even now, he had an assistant at each shoulder to brace him, pressing into sticky, dark fur. 

Ridgeback listened as Sun Eater spoke, and tried to see truth in his words; it was difficult to believe that a man drenched in a woman's blood truly did not want for war to come. Ridgeback had to wonder if Sun Eater knew the difference between war and justice; either way, it seemed both came, and Sun Eater wanted none of it. 

He named traitors, and he named Darukaal. He spoke of events which had passed, and of his wife. Ridgeback burned at the mention of her name, but was glad that Sun Eater did not pass a sentence. 

He found the Chieftan's wording confusing, and was silent for several moments as he tried to figure out the man's intention for himself. Ghelan spoke up, but Ridgeback didn't understand what the yearling said, aside from catching the word river. Feeling a bit guilty, he raised a paw to catch the leader's attention. 

I, uh, have a couple questions? He began, and swallowed. He set his paw back down, hoping that the rest of the Saatsine- those who spoke the language fuidly, didn't resent him for speaking in the common tongue. With Ice Diver gone, his learning had come to an abrupt halt. He was aware that it was for the sake of Ridgeback, and a few others, that the leader had been forced to speak in the common tongue. 

So...You want for us to go away, to a safe place, he said, with a light bob of his head, his tone agreeable. We have...Two new mothers, with...H-how many kids? But- we're bringing them with us, yes? He asked. He had always known that if the caribou moved, the Saatsine would as well- and that the children would be left behind. This time, he suspected, was different- the caribou weren't moving, only the caribou people. 

But he had to be sure. 

But I- do you mean....The pack is dividing? Like...Some of Sun Clan goes somewhere safer, and some stay here to fight? Orrr..... He asked. Leave it to him, to not know what was going on.

he had gone to sivaak woman, spoken word of sun eater's wishes. the women there had not received him well. they had demanded he go, declining his help.
so he returned, as he told his brother he would. now, to find him standing; hoisted by sister and niece. dark fang's eyes flash with first confusion, but he catches the tail end of what sun eater has to say. it is words dark fang heard first.
his brother stalks. splitting the crowd, paws upon flesh of the ground muted thuds. a sway to his stride, a swagger that infects.
his tongue flashes out across dark teeth. i stay at brother's side. he announces. sun eater knows this already—but others do not. looking around at the faces of those he did not know. he did not need to know them. he knew the kin in front of him.
there is a man asking questions that grate on dark fang, a scowl passing to him. he speaks weakly, with no confidence. stuttering over his own words.

Ridgeback, Her voice cut, looking to the bloodhunter. You speak as though you do not know Lanzadoii way. Of course they did, surely. Meleys did know know much common tongue so the words she spoke would only be heard by those who knew their tongue. 

They still have weeks before their first march, yes, but we are many. We can carry. Her full and new moon eyes turned, sweeping upon Star Eater. She still did not speak. Only whispered. She was traitor then, wasn't she? 

She was not one of them. She never would be now that her ghosts of another life she had fled from had come rushing back. She chose her ghosts over the family she had created by her terms.  

Caribou hunters have always marched. We march again. They could leave very simply, for the sake of their new pups. This was not a problem. However, If enemy give chase, this proves act of war. We kill.

[cameo]

ishmira leaves the children for but a moment, standing at the den's mouth with furrowed brow. sun eater spews lies, twists what little truth remains. and now he wants to move the children early? they are newborns, and they will hardly survive a long move in the snow. she glances back at them, wiggling whelps in the dark, and her gaze softens. she has made a promise to morwenna, and she will fight the whole of saatsine if she must.

ishmira retreats into the snow shelter, curling around new life, and waits.

no posting order!

ghelan first to speak, and sun eater's heart thrummed with the images of warriors descending to tear the son who had been given little chance to be lanzadoii. and though it cost him effort, the wounded hunter moved to stand before ghelan with a thousand sentiments sundering that single eye.

"because it not land they want. is blood." red had been spilled rightfully. now darukaal came, but still there was some dire portion of this sun eater was missing.

ridgeback next, and his sister spoke while he breathed. he fixed her with a gaze of fierce appreciation and turned toward the bloodhunter who had bound with ice diver.

"meleys is right. we have many children. we carry. lanzadoii made for long-run. those who will stand here, stay. but i not say you must. i — want saatsine to march."

he would cut another swathe.

A flash of white caught Ridgeback's eye, and he glanced to Dark Fang a moment before he spoke, to catch the man's skeptical grimace. He could feel eyes turn toward him, and the judgement that came following his words. But it wouldn't be Sun Eater that dignified his response with a reply- but the woman at his shoulder who helped him along. And when she spoke, it was not in a language that he could clearly understand- her tone, however, was fairly clear. 

He had to interpret we words as well as he could. From what he could glean, he gathered the following:

You talk not Lanzadoii way.

Clearly, he thought. He didn't get the time to interject, for she continued. 

....Weeks before march. Yes, many. Carry.

This confused him further. He remained silent, gritting his teeth together. Would they march now, then? Or in many weeks, once the many children were able to go? He was sure she'd said the word for carry at the end, but that implied that they might go now, before the children could walk. 

Caribou hunters march. We march again.

This still did not answer his question of when, and whether the children would be taken. 

Of her next phrase, he understood only a few words. Chase. War. Kill.

He sighed softly, doing his best to bury his frustration. Speaking at him in this language did nothing to help. Surprisingly, when he looked to Sun Eater whom he thought might sympathize with his situation, he saw instead a look of pride. His eyes widened slightly. 

The divide between their cultures had always been a hurdle, but he had never felt as though he had been considered to be lesser because he had not only a new language to learn, but a new lifestyle as well. He had always felt as though he was welcome in their midst, valuable even; but now, he felt not only outnumbered by those who knew more than him, but isolated as well. And with Ice Diver gone, he realized that his one tie to their ways had been cut; and he realized that his value had been linked to hers. 

Ice Diver, after all, had been War Chief- and he had been her husband. Had he been granted goodwill all along simply because of his wife's talent for learning? Whatever value he had had, seemed to have vanished along with her. 

He felt betrayed when Sun Eater praised Meleeys. His expression remained blank throughout his humiliation and  revelation, but he felt his cheeks burn when the Chieftan look to him, finally. He nodded briefly, when it was finally explained that some would stay and fight, while others carried the children away to safety. Thank you, Chieftan, He replied, to the only one who had deigned it worthwhile to speak in a tongue that Ridgeback could understand. Ridgeback, however, was not the only wolf in the pack who did not speak the tongue- and it was for the sake of the others that he spoke in the common tongue, next. 

I will help carry the children. 

He showed no shame in making his choice. He would rather suffer the scoffs and glares than shed blood for them now.

he had been there, watching, coldly. and as meleys spoke, and then sun eater spoke, he had begun to drift closer and closer towards the front of this gathering. seeking to stand near to his kin; sun eater, meleys, sulukinak.
it was there, he belonged. not in the tides of wolves he did not know, did not care to know—
wolves who were not lanzadoii. wolves who never could or would be. an eye centering on ridgeback then, for a fleeting moment, as the man proposes he will carry children.
he cannot bite back his judgmental chortle, one that is arrogant and deriving from the ridgeback's pitiful manhood. what bloodhunter does not fight? a remark bitten beneath his breath, directly mostly at meleys. he turns eyes then to sun eater.
what if wife is traitor, brother? he asks, eyes of blood glinting with a feverish urge. it is not his attention to offend nor speak out of turn—at least, not when addressing his brother. he lets this be known with the lowered, resting of his tail amongst his hocks. cubs are lanzadoii. they were of their blood. they should run with the caribou as they did. born into the ice raven's outstretched wings.
dark fang could not stand for a traitor woman to infect his nephews and nieces with her poison. his tongue laps first at his scarred snout, running the length of exposed teeth beneath the lifted flesh of his face. give cubs to a lanzadoii woman if wife betrays. it is his suggestion.
their sister, he thinks. or perhaps the pretty one with the muradoii bitch.

She watched and she listened.

Sulukinak looked to her uncle briefly, then to Dark Fang, to Meleeys, to Ghelan the son; counting each of them who appeared loyal. Could they trust Ridgeback to follow when he could barely understand the language? When he appeared oblivious to the goings-on of the Saatsine and the trouble that had brewed here? She recognized him as one of the Qeya wolves—so he had run among the Saatsine for months now, and that should have meant something.

She looks to Sun Eater after her brief perusal of faces—curious, wanting to ask something that she feels is important; but there are too many eyes here, too many people; instead, she swallows her thoughts and looks to the fringes of those gathered in case anyone else might appear, either to support or to denounce, and thinks, 'Is this enough?'

These days, Night Fire was filled with schadenfreude as she watched Sun Eater and Star Eater reap what they had sewn. The man who had killed her mother and made her captive. His complicit wife… Night Fire would have happily led Darukaal into Saatsine’s camp if it meant the end of the two Dark Shepherds.

But when Sun Eater proposed they escape, Night Fire suddenly saw a window of opportunity begin to close.

She shrunk into the shadows and avoided calling any attention to herself.

lmk if its ok to join<3

A woman to the wayside, as they were meant to be.
She hid behind the trunk of an old coniferous. Taqqiq watched.

Nutuyikruk did too, but with the conniving anger of a young girl with nothing to lose. And yet everything. Tread wisely, Sun Eater. Maybe she had something to learn from him.