Totoka River you speak in sonatas going to smithereens

@Asherah (I was going to tag Elohim but I realize you also play him). Anyone else is welcome to join too!

They have acquired a bit of information on their expedition already, with even a little insight on what they will expect should they go any further south. Thuringwethil debates whether or not they need to but for curiosity sake, she continues. Their travel differs from the other trips she has made where her guards lingered somewhere in the background but having @Tirgatao at her side has made for good company. Before, she had wanted to absorb as much of the sea alone as she could but now that her home has located against the coast, she favors a nearby companion instead.

The cape has become captivating but she does not explore down the peninsula just yet, stopping for a drink of fresh water in the river nearby until her thirst is quenched. There is a slight salty taste to it as it meets the ocean not too far from where they stand but it isn’t enough to become a bother. She turns to look at Tirgatao a little ways north of the river but does not call for her to move. Instead, she lets herself rest for a while. The day is coming to an end and they will need to search for shelter once more before they continue on but they still have a couple of hours of sunlight to make use of. Some of this seems familiar, especially the river, but she knows she is coming upon lands that she won’t recognize.

Implying @Anatha is present, so feel free to jump in. Slight PP on her part, as well. Let me know if I should change.

Traveling with the children was slow going. They required much rest, and without the den to store them in her hunting was greatly hindered. She was afraid to hide them anywhere for very long, for fear of something or someone finding them. They managed, though, by the blessing of Molech. She made sure they were fed before herself, and in truth she was losing weight. Her body was slimming, though she was not yet underfed. She was not as filled out as the wolf she had been before their birth, and her fur no longer shone as it had. She was not dirty by any means, anyone could see her fur was clean and cared for, but she did not have the time to make it glow. She did not have the food to nourish it so.

As she traveled she was often reminded of her own travels as a child. The idea was nearly enough to bring her to her knees in tears and anger, in pain. She did her best to make the trip fun for the children, implying it was an adventure. Her parents hadn't done that for her, they had always been sure to remind them that they were hunted. It was not as grim for her children. No one hunted them, they were merely trying to find a new home. She didn't say this, for fear of the word inciting a demand to return to their first home. Instead she said adventure, and spoke of what lay beyond trees and streams.

But she was weary. She did not sleep well, not on the nights that they did not find a true shelter. She curled herself around her children and kept watch, daring any beasts of the darkness to come and try to take them from her. Not even when they had found an abandoned den could she truly sleep. She did not feel safe, did not trust. And so she could not rest.

She had head for the coast at the start of her journey, hoping it would provide easier terrain for her children. It had not disappointed for the most part, though occasionally they strayed further back into the forests. They had been following a river from the ocean, knowing that rivers meant food and that it would provide fresh water once they got far enough. Just as she was ready to attempt to drink to test it, she caught sight of another wolf. She did not notice that they bore company as well, her eyes landed on the female and froze. She had made a concentrated effort to avoid wolves, fearing for her children. Now there was no way they could flee without being seen.

"Stand behind me, darlings. There's a stranger up ahead." Her voice was soft but calm and she reached a paw out to scoot Anatha behind. She watched the woman a moment, gauging her, unsure of what to do or say. She said a silent prayer to Molech, before finally her voice loosed itself, hesitantly, from her chest. "Hello there." She sounded pleasant enough, but didn't say much else. She didn't want to give anything away, overshare.

He was tired, his feet were sore for walking for so long. They would sleep and rest a couple days, sure, but they always started walking again. He wasn't sure he liked adventures anymore. He had always wanted to play outside the den, to go further and further than mama said. But he didn't like this anymore. He wanted to sleep in the dark den that he knew, that smelled of mama and nattah. He did like the ocean though, and sand. It was fun to roll around in sand, or stick your paws deep in it. 

mama wouldn't let him play in the water, but he wanted to. She said it was too cold, and that he could do it when he was older and it was warmer. But he didn't want to have to have hurt feet again just to do it. An adventure was supposed to be fun, wasn't it? This was only fun sometimes. He didn't like sometimes. They were going away from the ocean again, and he was sad. He liked it, the sound it made and the way he could chase the water and let it chase him back. But mama wanted to find a nice den to sleep in, and some food and he couldn't say no to food. He was hungry more now, but he thought that it was because he was growing. He was a big boy, nearly. 

He was watching the river as they walked, disappointed that the water barely moved unlike the ocean. When his mother stopped he nearly ran into her leg, but had to catch himself. He gave a laugh, thinking maybe she was playing, but then she spoke and he looked ahead of them. There was another wolf. He hadn't seen another wolf in a long time. He wanted to meet them, to talk to them, but mama said to stay behind and that made him scared. Was this a bad stranger?

He moved behind her legs and peered out at the other wolf, watching carefully, his interest plainly visibile. His mother called out to the other and he drew in a breath to call out too. A swift glance from mama silenced him, and the air huffed out in a great disappointed puff.

A figure soon materializes in the distance, followed by two littler silhouettes, and Thuringwethil remains in her spot as she watches them. When their features began to form, Heda is able to allow herself to relax. The woman resembles Wildfire in a way and similarly Thuringwethil is nearly twice the size of the red wolf. As she gets closer, the less resemblance to her mate she has but the thought hasn’t gone unnoticed. She looks tired and thin, a little worse for wear, and her lips purse into a frown.

She offers a smile a beat later when she hears her speak to the children behind her and then turn back to greet her. Thuringwethil nods slightly with a gentle shake of her arched tail, proving no threat for the protective mother.

“Hello,” she calls, turning her head to her left to indicate the other woman further up the river but their distance is great enough her companion isn’t in the conversation. She simply doesn’t want to alarm her with the presence of another. “I am Thuringwethil,” she introduces, a little lax as she drops her gaze to scan over both children. One of them seems to have shied away in her presence and her smile turns flat. “I mean no harm,” she says, this time directed to the two puppies so they may be able to relax too.

The woman responds with a nod and a shake of her tail, but Asherah does not allow herself to relax fully. The voice that leaves the other's lips seems kind as well, but even still she prickles at the idea of having happened upon another. This is no life for children. She knows this is a way that her mother did not, in a way she prays her children will not. She has run and run and run for her entire life. The only peace that she has ever found was snuffed out in a great and disgusting display of selfishness and sin. 

For a moment as she regards the woman, her body seems to sag but she quickly covers it with a shake of her fur. She shakes the feeling away, forces it away for her children. Her gaze follows the other's gesture to another wolf some distance away. Not terribly far, but far enough to not hear them speak. Asherah nods once, thankful that the other pointed them out. She would have been surprised and alarmed at the arrival of another. The woman addresses the children, and Asherah glanced down to Elohim. He seems to want to speak to the other. She gives him a simple nod, telling him that he may speak, but she does not move closer and will not allow him any closer.

"My name is Asherah." The red woman returns, the sound of the woman's name is strange and exotic to her. "These are my children, Anatha and Elohim. We are on an adventure." Her voice is strong here, firm and light. Perhaps her voice is a little too firm, too insistent, as if she is willing herself to believe it too. She lets her gaze meet that of the other woman, a silent communication between adults. She believes the other will understand.

The other wolf speaks, telling them that her name is something that is long and complicated. Elohim glances to his mother, and is delighted as she nods and gives her permission for him to talk now. His tail waves rapidly behind him and he waits for his mother to stop speaking, worried that if he interrupts she will shush him again. He shoots her a look as she introduces him, wanting to do it himself. Finally mama falls quiet and he beams, chest puffing out.

"Hi Thur'n'wettle!" He calls, interested in this new wolf. He wants to add to his mother's story about the adventure. "We're explorers! An adventure! We found the ocean, but I can't play in it 'til I'm older." He informed her matter-of-factly. He was proud of all the walking he'd done suddenly, even if his feet hurt. "I'm good at keeping up." He looked to his mother for confirmation of this bragging, wanting her to tell the woman too. Asherah gave a brief smile and a nod, and Elohim looked back to the other wolf.

One of the children is quieter than the other and so most of her focuses falls to the one that seems much more excited to be there. Her tail remains in motion with an ease of her posture. They are far enough away from Drageda that they do not appear to be a threat—as much as a mother and two young children could be—and she had Tirgatao down the way. The woman introduces herself, as well as the two little ones, and a hardened voice announces their mission. An adventure. A skeptical glance returns to Asherah but she does not speak up. The sternness of her face gives her enough information and her smile begins to fade.

As one of the puppies, Elohim, speaks up, she lets her tail wag even faster as he announces everything over again.

“It is a good idea to wait until you’re older. The ocean is very strong,” she tells him, certain that his mother—given the information—has already told him about the dangers of the ocean. Even for an adult, it is a cruel mistress, and Thuringwethil knows better than be foolish around the water. “I live in a pack north of here and it’s right on the ocean,” she tells them, directed at the children still, but more for the benefit of the mother so she knows what she’s getting in to if she continues to travel north.

The woman casts Asherah a glance at the mention of an adventure, her face turning stern. For a moment Asherah merely blinks at her, a swirl of emotions turning within her. She feels judged, but that may be her own emotions coloring the situation. If only this woman knew what she had been through. She was not here because she wished to be, she wasn't a fool. Her children were too young to survive without a pack. She was not enough to keep them alive herself. Even with Molech on their side, it was near impossible. Perhaps if there had only been one child, but she was unwilling to pick. She had made her sacrifices, she had lost her promised child.

Her face goes tight and she glances away from the woman, gathering herself. She doesn't want to get the other angry, and she knows the other doesn't know the full story. For all the other woman knows she is a fool running from her home. A Honey. The idea brings her back, allows her to keep her emotions in check. She is so very tired, so in need of a rest. She judged Honey harshly too. If this woman judged her, it was only the sign of an intelligent woman without the full story.

She responds kindly to Elohim, and Asherah, despite her tiredness, cannot help the smile that covers her face as the boy addresses the other. He is smart, and outgoing. Adorable. She realizes that she has missed out but not getting to see them interact with other wolves more. That is nothing she could help though. Nothing she could change. She is changing it now, by finding a new home. By going on an adventure. Asherah notes the mention of a pack, and her interest is peaked. 

"What is your home called, Thur-Thuringwethil?" She stumbles over the name, but manages it well enough. She wants so badly to speak with this woman adult to adult, but cannot dismiss her children. She fears speaking of home before them, of reminding them. Would they even miss it though? She doesn't know. Life hasn't been the easiest to them. "We left our home," She begins, hesitantly glancing to Elohim, for Anatha still hides behind her. "Sun Mote Copse. Very south and slightly west of here. To go on this adventure." Her eyes are so very sad as she speaks, nearly pleading that the children don't create a fuss, but her voice lifts happily and excitedly at the mention of adventure again and she casts a grin at her son. Acting the part.

"We were alone there. The pack splintered, broke." They left us to die. "It was time for a change." She couldn't help the anger that appeared in her thoughts. Of course by they she meant Eshamun and Honey, Ar-Khalba too but she didn't count on males for much, it wasn't the same. She ended suddenly, unwilling to share more where little ears could hear, where her emotions could betray her.

His mother hadn't mentioned the ocean being strong, only that it was cold. But he takes it in stride, wondering exactly how water can be strong. He's never swum before. The idea scares him a little, and he is suddenly less keen on swimming. He imagines teeth lurking in the white of the foam, ready to bite him and eat him up.

Thur'n'wettle talks about a pack and Elohim's eyes light up again. A pack near the ocean? "Do you swim everyday!?" He is about to continue, to ask if maybe they could visit and she could let him play in that ocean when mama starts to speak. She gets the lady's name wrong, but he doesn't correct her. It would be mean and mama might be sad. Mama talks about where they left and he blinks up at her, remembering now. He doesn't want to go back though, it hurt his feet to much to get here. He didn't want to hurt them again to go back. Even if his hole wasn't finished. Suddenly he was sad about his hole back home. How he never got to go deep enough.

He pouts a little, he remembers when there was another wolf and more babies in the den. When his mother nursed others and he was jealous. He doesn't miss that. He just misses his hole. "I was digging a hole." He announces, pouting still. "I didn't get ta go all the way. I wanted it to be the deepest." He pauses, then looks to his mama the pout suddenly evaporating. "When we're done adventurin' can I do a new hole?" Asherah quickly nods, and he beams. "I can dig a new hole, Thur'n'wettle! Do you dig holes at home?"

Thuringwethil’s attention is on Elohim as Asherah’s face changes and turns away so she can’t see anyway. The question puts a smile on her face and she offers a chuckle. “Not when it is so cold,” she tells him with a quirk of her eyebrow. “But when the water is warm enough.”

When Asherah speaks again, asking of her home, Thuringwethil’s ears twitch and stand alert. “Drageda. If you follow the shore, you will find it,” she answers, though for invitation or warning, her tone is flat. It is only when the mother explains their misfortune, their adventure, that Thuringwethil is able to note the origin of the tension. The name is unfamiliar to her but it becomes irrelevant when it’s explain there is nothing left of what may very well have been harmony once upon a time.

She is silent as the conversation becomes between mother and son, if only to appease the eager child. He speaks of home, and the end of their adventure, and remains in good spirits. How long does he have before that innocence is ruined? Her nose wrinkles but she glances away, toward Tirgatao, to shed the expression. “There is another park north of here, a little east. I met their leader the other day, as well as a small band further up shore, but I do not know much of them.” she says, this time a nod of warning as she turns back. “If you continue traveling this way, that is.”

The woman is good with children, which pleases and soothes Asherah. She is glad that their first interaction with a stranger is good, even if Anatha is hiding still. The other speaks of her home, a word that is foriegn to Asherah's ears. "Drageda." She repeats with a nod. She is unsure if the other wishes her to go there, or is warning her of it. She glances back towards the shore, staring into the distance for a moment. 

She is silent, her mind is turning. Is this interaction a sign from Molech? It was by water where Eshamun first pulled her to the light, and it would be fitting that the God try to emphasize the message in this way. Is this pack, this Drageda, where she is headed for? She had planned to walk until her paws lead them to a suitable pack. She was sure she would know when it happened, feel it inside herself. She wants to hear more of this pack, know more of this woman who comes from it.

She nods her head in thanks to the information about the other pack. "What is your home like, Thuringwethil? Your leaders? The beliefs of the pack?" She does not wish to join another pack that worships a God, for Molech is her God. She could fake it, but she would rather not. Her ears are perked with interest, and there is no denying on why she is asking. The adventure has to end sometime, and she wishes it could be sooner than later.

He smiles warmly at the lady as she chuckles, eyes twinkling. She says that she doesn't swim when it's cold either, which makes sense. Mama doesn't lie. Liars are bad. The lady begins to speak to mama and he listens, trying to understand what all they're saying. They're talking about Thur'n'wettle's home. He is slightly disappointed that she doesn't answer his question about holes, but doesn't miss the chance to repeat her home's name like mama. 

"Drageda." He makes his voice calm and slow, like a big boy. He can talk with the adults too, he's not a kid anymore! Thankfully mama asks questions he wants to know too, though he doesn't care as much as the beliefs. His calm voice flies out the window as he voices a question of his own. "Are there other kids there? Do they play and dig and swim?" His tail waves at the idea. He hasn't had friends before, though mama told him what a friend was. Nattah was his friend, mama said, but she's his sister too and that's not the same as a real friend.

Both mother and son repeat the word, and Thuringwethil nods with a confirming smile. She looks to the other child but there is not much of a reaction and she goes about so she doesn’t frighten the other. Elohim seems much more involved and Asherah doesn’t force them to interact if they don’t want to, but is that enough to make a good mother? The thought strikes an odd chord within her that leaves her hesitant to pursue. She’d grown up without a family other than the fos goufas of her time and there had never been any lessons on parenting for themselves when parenting, prior, has always been frowned upon.

A sigh shakes loose from her lips but she brushes it off as she turns to the boy as he excitedly asks another question. “There isn’t right now but, I have a secret,” she pauses with a flicker of a glance upward before it returns toward the boy. “There might be some new pups coming.” Thuringwethil watches his reaction long enough that she has a response of her own for a question that feels a little more than just making casual conversation.

“We act as any other pack, we are a family, what is ours is ours, and we protect and take care of our own. The commander is what keeps our wolves together, our Heda, and all the former commanders live within them and they guide to keep Drageda’s wolves safe. We have traditions and a language that is not common here as it is where we are from but when my home also broke, I brought what was left and started again here. There is still a clan further north, beyond Drageda, that still live under that rule but act as their own.”

The woman's interaction with Elohim puts her more at ease, though she'd be lying if she said she was comfortable. Always in the back of her mind is the thought that if attacked, she'd not be able to protect both of her children. She would die for them, of course, but where would that leave them? Orphaned, alone, and likely not long for Molech's embrace without a caregiver. It had been the main thought that kept her in Sun Mote, the thought that kept her awake. It was what drove her to keep them from others to avoid the possibility all together. 

Yet, here she stood, watching her boy light up at the interaction with another. Knowing that he was missing things he should have in a real pack. Things that she herself had not known, but should have. Things her children deserved to know. This stranger brought forward many things she didn't want to deal with, things that she had wanted to keep away until she felt safe again. But perhaps, that was the answer. Perhaps this was Molech, and something in this woman's words were meant to be her and her children's future.

Her interest peaks when the other mentions children, and she glances slightly to the woman's side. She sees nothing now, does not smell the scent of heat or pregnancy on her. But, perhaps she only has plans for her next heat. Or perhaps she is still too early to know. The idea of other children is even more alluring, even if they are younger. It would be good interaction for both Elohim and the quiet Anatha. 

Her daughter's silence makes her worry that she had become too distrustful of other wolves. Has this life already scarred her soul? Asherah glances back to Anatha, attempting to keep the worry from her face. Though she believes she sees interest and curiosity on her daughter's face, the girl makes no move to involve herself.

The word family brings many emotions to her heart, many of which are bitter. She is ashamed of this change in herself, of this sadness, and quickly pushes it away. Not all families will break apart, not all packs crumble to dust and not all parents die. Her children will have it different.

"Your pack sounds very similiar, in a way, to what we left behind. They too had their own language, a splinter of a pack from distant lands. They were coming here to spread their rule, for their home was strong. We too had traditions that I would not say are common." She keeps it light, wondering exactly what this new packs traditions are. Are they similar to the Malkaria's? "I was not a wolf from the original pack. I joined and learned, and took their creed to my heart." She paused, glancing away and in the general direction of Sun Mote. She prepared herself. "Do you think your leaders would have room for us, if we came to call? My children and I?" 

She wasn't yet sure if that was what she was meant to do, she wouldn't follow this wolf there today, but perhaps eventually they would go.

I hope it's okay I skipped Elohim. :)

The woman speaks of her home and the fall it endured. Their purpose had been a little different than Drageda but the similarities are not lost on her. Even if Drageda formed out of ruin from Seageda, their strength has remained. Now, a year after they settled on the sleeping dragon, they were still strong. They have their moments of weakness but it is those moments that continue to build them up so they do not fall.

It does not surprise her to hear the question of room in her home and she considers it, feeling a tug on her heart. Her head turns to Tirgatao still down the way, wondering what she may say about the situation, but she is too far to hear. They had a fruitful winter, despite the harsh conditions, but with two females ready to give birth in the coming weeks.

"If you are willing to give your loyalty to us, there is room for you. We survive because we take care of one another," she explains. The mother has already proven that she wants to take care of her children. She doesn't even have to mention it. Taking care of one in need reaps benefits in the end and all those times she'd been burned before are set aside as she sweeps a glance tears the children.

Perfectly fine, my bad! I thought I had posted it him, but I might have not hit the post button. Whoops >.>

This journey has always had a purpose. It was not simply moving from where they had been, but finding a new home. Asherah had always intended on joining another pack when she found one that felt right. The idea of asking to be accepted frightened her though, the idea of rejection of not only her but her children worried her. She had been avoiding packs by going up the coast, but, she believed that Molech would guide her steps. She was here now, wasn't she? She was frightened too by the idea of joining a pack again and having it fall apart again. 

All the groups she had been a part of had fallen to pieces. She had adored her sisters in the Malkaria, had thrown herself into the religion and the pack without a worry. The idea of doing so again made her feel weak, and worried. Could she come to trust yet more wolves? Her parents had never outright betrayed her, they had betrayed Molech and turned their back on the light. Eshamun had done the same. Would this pack leave her in the same way? She wouldn't be able to know until it was too late. Her eyes fell to her children as the woman considered her question. 

If she didn't join a pack they would not survive, that much was clear. They were missing out on so many things. Perhaps fear is what had kept her parents from joining other wolves. Could they have been saved by a pack? Would Molech's wrath had lightened if they had not tried to simply run? She didn't want to be her parents, and she didn't want Anatha and Elohim to grow as she and her siblings had.

The woman's answer touched a place in Asherah's heart. That is what she wanted from a pack. Family. Support. She nodded but could not bring herself to speak yet. It had never been Asherah who had turned her back on anyone. "Above all things I respect family." Her voice was softer, more sad, and she did not lift her gaze from Elohim to hide the emotion in her eyes. "If I offered my loyalty, it would be as if they were my own blood." She smiled softly at her son.

​"Perhaps one day we will seek your home out, Thuringwethil of Drageda. This adventure can't last forever."

Elohim grins excitedly at being included in the secret. His little tail waves. "I won't tell!" He says, his voice an exagerated and loud hissing whisper. "Are you going to be a Mama?" He says, eyes wide and full of curiosity. He doesn't know exactly how one goes from not being a mama to being a mama. But pups have to come from somewhere, don't they? His mama says they're from Molech, but that doesn't explain how Molech gets them here.

He wants to ask more, but soon his Mama is speaking again, and she seems more serious than before. He glances at her, understanding that he shouldn't interrupt now. Ever since this adventure she had taught both him and Anatha that when she says to hush, she means it. They could die, mama said, if they didn't listen.

He watches his mama talk, and she soon looks down at him. He wasn't paying attention to what was being said, but he grins toothily back. Her voice has a tone in it that Elohims understands to mean they will be leaving soon. This tone also says when it's time to go to bed, and when she's done arguing with him. He glances sadly to Thur'nwettle. He doesn't want to leave, he wants to see her home.

Elohim excitedly beams that he’ll keep the secret and Thuringwethil’s smile increases, though she stumbles over the expression on the next question. Wildfire has asked what the children will call her but she does not carry them, nor is she a part of them in ways that Wildfire will be. Even though she trips up over the answer, she still manages to get out a nod and a simple, “yes.”

She does not longer on it long, forcing it out of mind, as Asherah admits what she is looking for and what she has to offer in ways of loyalty. There’s something inside her that wants to offer her help in the moment but she knows she does not have much to give. Tirgatao is likely to be turning back any time soon and a glance down the river realizes she has taken note.

“Perhaps I will see you then,” she explains with a swish of her tail and point of her nose. “It was nice to meet you. And you two, as well,” she adds with a final gesture to the kids. Thuringwethil pivots back and makes for her departure.

So she is to be a mother, Asherah realizes, and thinks that perhaps she could help them with their children. She had never before put thought to what exactly she would do with her life outside the Malkaria. She had been a Acolyte, an aspiring Priestess, but with no one to complete the rituals and to teach her the words would be but husks of their true meaning. Perhaps she could help with childcare, or midwife. She adores children, and she has watched women give birth, has given birth herself. 

She learned from the Malkaria and from her own Mother, and time would only continue to increase her knowledge. The idea brought her some comfort, it was nice to have a plan even as potential as this one. Any pack would need midwives, or childcare or else they would not survive. She could be useful to Drageda, or someone else, and that was better than simply needing a home. Still, the idea of trusting a pack alarmed her and she wasn't yet ready to jump headfirst. She wanted to speak with Molech, to be sure this was a sign for her.

"It was nice to meet you too." She returns, watching as the woman turns to make her leave. Inside, she shivers with fear and worry and is jealous of the home the woman would return too. She misses safety, true sleep. She misses being able to trust another wolf, misses that companionship of sisters, packmates, even if she had been left alone. She does not watch for long, for fear of delving too deep into the darkness, and turns and calls for her children to follow. She must pray, and hunt for their dinner.