Otatso Wetlands This race is a prophecy.

If he never saw the mountains again, it would be too soon. The snow remained heavily draped across the hills as he ran, plunging ahead in to the unknown and away from all the heartache of Duskfire. Yes, he was leaving Maera behind. Yes, he had split from Tuwawi - in a way. They were estranged. Their relationship was difficult now, and had become another factor for his abandoning of the glacier. But he didn't see himself as abandoning anyone; he would come back. He had to return at some point - but for now, Njal just ran.

He didn't know where he was going. There was nothing guiding him, nothing to look forwards to, but everything to run away from. The clouds - heavy and drifting, filled with ice - mirrored the snow-covered field which he sloughed through. Big and white - just whiteness, everywhere. The distant horizon was a thin grey line, like washed out ink, and no matter how much closer he got to it, the faraway trees and familiar mountain range never darkened.

'I could go back. I could turn around right now and return home.' Njal thought, but as he did, his pace increased. There was a tightness in his chest, a weight, which felt like it would squeeze the life right out of him if he so much as thought about Duskfire. 'I could go to Swiftcurrent. Bazi is there - but, she'll ask questions.' He did not want to explain. He did not want to talk about the broken family, with all their hopes and dreams turned to ash among the snow.

All he wanted was to be free of it. Free, like the clouds. He just had to keep on running.

excuse her but omg I couldn't resist... Hopefully you don't mind me snagging this <3
If you wanted this to go in another direction, feel free to say so!

Having taken the time to neither get to know nor care about the others in the pack she now resided upon, her knowledge of Njal was barely enough to inform her of his membership. He was as much a ghost as she, a fleeting presence. So when she saw him running that morning, so intent, she wasn't sure why she moved to intercept. Perhaps it was because she had given Mordecai her word to assist, or perhaps it was sheer boredom. Whatever the reasoning, here she was, calling after a stranger.

The curl of her lip was unmistakable, and told how little she thought of him openly. She had hidden her thoughts from Malachi out of necessity, but this wolf brooked no such favor. Perhaps one of the only things she knew of him was that he had a daughter within the glacier. One who, in her opinion, would be better off without a 'father'.

"You are leaving," she called after him, tone unmistakably derisive. "How typical of your kind. Weak, with word and honor that means nothing."

oh my god manauIA what horrible timing lmfao <3

He was a nowhere man - like the days before the glacier, before even Swiftcurrent. When he thought only of his own survival and not that of his bloodline. The fire in his heart had burned strong for a long while now, but it had dwindled; he was filled with blackness now. A flickering ember remained, hardly keeping the cold of winter away. It didn't matter now. Let the fire go out - let them be separated, if it meant he would survive. Njal stomped through the snow with such a defiant manner, it was as if he wished to be spotted. Like he was tempting fate and allowing Tuwawi to come chasing after him. He had chosen the time of his departure carefully enough, though. She was likely with Maera, making up for lost time.

But as he ran and the snow crunched underfoot, he thought he heard a voice. He thought he recognized the sound, and suddenly slumped to a halt, rearing his head back and turning so abruptly it was a surprise Njal kept his footing. He saw a flash of red - oncoming fire, Tuwawi? - and he waited for the burn in his heart to flare up, for his heart to leap to his throat. Instead, all that lifted were his hackles. He breathed a sharp breath in and held it, looking in the direction of the oncoming wolf. The beast did not think Tuwawi would stoop so low as to beg him to return; she was as proud as he, proud and strong.

This wasn't her. It was clear when the woman got closer - this wasn't his wife, but before he could relax, she spouted ignorant words filled with hostility. 'Foolish girl' Njal thought, and steadily exhaled a cloud of his own in to the air. For a moment he considered simply turning and leaving her without a response. But there was something about the woman's demeanor that unsettled him - she was poking and prodding him with her accusations, and it was too much after everything else.

My kind..? Njal shifted as he spoke, stepping towards her so that they could lock eyes; he was indeed defiant of her, assuming the posture of an angry Alpha even if he no longer held the rank. You know nothing about me, woman. Nothing about my family or the place you call home. He caught the scent of Malachi hanging heavily upon her, but it was fresh. A tell-tale sign of how foreign she still was.

He turned again, this time intent on leaving her behind. From over his shoulder, Njal's rumbling voice crackled with withheld rage, Run on back to Malachi.

I am feeling like she might become somewhat of a master at bad timing :D I just couldn't resist. If this needs to go to a spar it can... Manauia won't attack but I dunno about Njal XD

The male paused at her words at least, and his snarled response gave her some delight. To let such feelings take hold was not true to the warrior's way, but to say his misery didn't appeal to her greatly would be a lie. She was still rather embittered over her banishment, or rather what might as well be called that. Seeing another even lower than she was a true delight.

Her words were not rashly spoken despite their harsh nature. They would serve, in her estimation, one of two purposes. Either this man would take the challenge and remain, or he would depart with even more anger in his heart. If the first were the case, she could perhaps take some of the credit, further cementing her place here. She would prefer the alternative, though. Not only did she not care about the respect she got here (not beyond being assured a place in the ranks), but she thought him a sorry prize in any event. But if he left and she could claim she attempted to stop him, she might perhaps win the favor of his daughter. And therein lay a prize. The Amazonian had now gotten it into her head that a bit of recruiting could not go amiss.

If they were worthy. That was yet to be seen.

"But I know a coward when I see one, for I have seen many in my life. I have felt their throats between my teeth, for that is the reward befitting such. And it is the only thing I would ask for, should I betray my home as you betray yours." She curled her lip. "But by all means, keep running. Perhaps the winter will grant you the fate you deserve."

Perhaps if Njal had known of Manauia's hidden threat, that she would take Maera for herself and spoil her mind against her father, he would turn around and refute everything that she said. He would likely even attack the foolish woman - an unrelenting force in the face of this new threat to his family. Not even Malachi would be able to stop him in that, regardless of his position. But Njal was ignorant to the things that went through the woman's mind. All he knew was that her voice grated within his ears, and her spiteful words made him further agitated, but not hostile.

His tail, still raised, writhed back and forth as he tried to dispel some of his anger - but it would not be so easy. Njal turned his head and side-eyed the woman, his expression nearly livid, but he refused to face her head on. Parts of what she said were true, after all. He was being a coward. Life had thrown so much bullshit his way, though, that cowardice was hardly damaging. Your opinion is of no use to me. I uprooted my family and we created this pack. We lost everything because of that choice. My children are... He paused in his speech, unwilling to say the words - dead, gone.

A heartbeat later, he continued with more fervor. Yet you presume that you can tell me how to react? How to handle the failure that has followed me like a shadow? He scoffed, and began to lethargically stride away from her. Get away from me. The beast demanded - although there was a lack of unf in his tone. Just a sad drawl, the rumble of his deep voice being swallowed by the surrounding snow, and suffocated.

Another wolf might have argued that not all of his children were gone, for Mae was very much here. Manauia had little interest in watching him return, though, and a lot more resting on him fleeing for the hills. She doubted she would be returning home, let alone taking any future Amazons with her. But the attempt would certainly provide some fun.

She was growing weary of his moaning, and this conversation was only cementing what she had always known of his kind. He was weak, unable to take what life had dealt him, and so would likely be destroyed by it. All the better, for it was the wild's way to rid itself of the weak so that the strong could flourish.

But he was fun to rile up. One didn't get such raw emotion in the males of Coatl's Rise. They were trained to comply, not fight back.

"You call this 'handling failure'? I'd love to see what not handling it looks like," she responded with a small, teasing smirk upon her face. "I didn't force you to stop. You can leave whenever you like."

Instead of waiting though, she gave a single, barking laugh. "Some warrior." And with that parting shot she turned her back, trotting back in the direction that she came from without a second glance. What he did next was his problem. She'd had her fun with him, so his purpose was served.