Dragoncrest Cliffs two hearts are left in bleeding halves

Thuringwethil and co are back. Not a mandatroy thread but definitely encouraged. <3 @Dio @Eske @Ajatar @Furi @Blixen @Artaax @Bobby @Rose @Dalia @Hux Edit: took Ette out of thread, sorry Eljay for tagging you twice, haha.

Returning from the Caldera is some weird mix of rush and leisure to get home, delaying their progress along the way. @Eljay is accompanying them this time but Wildfire is not, as much as she wants to bring her home for their family. She worries about Wildfire’s wellbeing, uncertain the caldera is capable of helping her mate get to where she needs to be. Wildfire doesn’t want to bring her mess into Drageda but it is all their mess, now, and she doesn’t have to go through it alone. Normalcy would help repair and rebuild where she knows she would be strong once more. Unable to force her return, she still has to face their children and tell them she’ll be delayed until spring (part of her worries at all, but she clings to the hope and assurance of their last meeting).

As the ocean sits to their left, Thuringwethil moves with the little group with a tired body and exhausted mind. She’s certain, after all this, she could sleep for days before she felt normal again but too much keeps her on the edge, not quite letting her get the rest she needs in their travel. When the forest of Drageda comes into view, she is awash with relief and a new burst of energy comes over her to push forward and finish their journey. She glances to Eljay, briefly, and offers them an encouraging smile (which isn’t much). She picks up the pace until the scent of the borders overwhelm her nose and they’re home and that’s all that matters.

When they are close enough for her call to be heard, she lifts her nose and releases a song announcing their return. It isn’t long before they’re all the way in Drageda, feeling a black cloud of exhaustion take over but she steels her expression and prepares for those that may greet them.

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Artaax had never expected that Thuringwethil's return would include Wildfire. He knew that his mom had sent word that she wasn't well enough to travel, and hadn't bothered to hope that things would somehow change just from Thur's visit. Nevertheless, his heart twinged under a brief moment of disappointment when he arrived to greet nomi and did not find Wildfire at her side. Instead, he saw only Eljay, whom he dismissed entirely as he strode up to Thur and reached to nuzzle her chin. He stepped back soon after, his expression wordlessly sharing his joy to see her while simultaneously asking of her travels, though he knew the latter would be attended to only once more had arrived.

like a shot she takes off at nomi's call. things are still weird with furi and without the company of her friend and with nomi gone, she's been feeling very lonely. a part of her aches to see mother is still at the caldera, though she knew that'd be the case - she thinks about what she told nomi and steels herself. come spring time she'll be able to go with ... well. maybe.. maybe she can take artaax or bobby with her instead. 

a slight whine escapes her as she sidles up alongside her brother to nuzzle nomi's nose briefly. she's glad to see eljay by her side too, and offers him a smile and a wag of her ink-dipped tail. ette, the big guy, isn't there and blixen frowns. she hadn't been very close to him but if tragedy befell another of their crew she's going to feel terrible -- especially since she knows he's close to furi. 

the ginger steps back to stand alongside artaax, waiting to find out what happened.

The journey was long in more than just physical ways; Eljay felt like he ripped another part of home away from himself as he made his way back to Drageda without Wildfire. But he also knew that had he stayed, he would have stayed forever -- or rather, until Towhee had chased him out and then he would not have known how to return here. Besides, he had made a promise to Blixen that he would return and he didn't want to disappoint her, especially considering they weren't bringing home Wiffle.

He let out a sigh of contentment as they reached Drageda, glad to be home -- though it still needed to grow more to actually feel as such -- and glad to be able to rest. Ears pressed forward as Artaax and Blixen came to them. Artaax ignored him, as Eljay was used to, but Blixen offered him a smile that made Eljay feel he had made the right choice. He returned it, smiling warmly at Blixen and glad that he had at least a little piece of Wiffle here in the form of her daughter. Hopefully winter would go well and they would both have the real thing back soon.

If Furi knew Étoille was not with them, she likely would have ignored the call. It is not her family, not in the way that it is Blixen’s, and it doesn’t affect her (it does, she doesn’t realize), but the call is made and her feet hit the ground with determination. She only slows when she finds the scent, heavy with the fleeting memory of Thuringwethil. With it are Blixen, and Artaax, and another she doesn’t really recognize either, but not one of them is her friend and her ears fall back against her head.
 
She weaves through the trees until she see sees he group but in her short glance, she doesn’t see him. Her heart sinks to the depths of her chest and she sighs, worry filling every corner of her body that something happened—didn’t they only go to visit the other pack?—and she steps closer, at least until she’s visible to everyone. With Blixen so close to the group, she doesn’t want to get any closer; the hurt is still there and she hasn’t figured out where to put it. Still, she wants to know what happened to Étoille and why he isn’t here to greet her.

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Picking up the pace to his rolling lope, he cut a path towards the howl from his prior route. Him, like so many others, had been waiting to hear back like this from their commander. He would have to catch her up on what she had missed here as well, although thankfully it was not anything dire. Already, relief  mixed thickly with anticipation--hopefully, the news that traveled with their commander was remotely favorable. But, over the days of her absence and even from the ones before spent in Redhawk, he had struggled to get muster such hopes in earnest. Ever since finding out about Arlo's end and seeing firsthand how weakened Wildfire had been, he had been plenty convinced that nothing good was to blame here.

A small handful had gathered around Thuringwethil and Eljay, and he knew more would surely come filtering in behind him too. He hung back willingly to observe for now, deferring to the juveniles greeting their Nomi. Despite the tense undertone, his tail swayed gently against his hocks. He was glad to see his comrades back, and seemingly safe at first glance. Étoille not being here was immediately noted, though. That hardened his expression ever so slightly, but trusting that she would fill them in on why, he would wait to hear what the Heda had to say.

She is on the borders with another aimless patrol when the call is made. It is loud and fills her ears, making it obvious that Heda has returned and she isn’t too far away. Ajatar picks up her speed from her formal, leisure stroll, and makes her way a little inward when the scents lead in. She is not the first wolf to arrive, despite her closeness, and she glances across at the children that greet the Heda and Dio that shows up but remains silent. Her tail swishes slowly behind her and she returns her gaze back to the dark wolf and waits, eager to find out what has come out of the most recent scouting trip. She has not returned with the same wolf she left with and it is obviously not this Wildfire and her curiosity grows stronger.

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Rose wasn’t sure what drew her towards the call, but she had found herself heading in that direction anyway so she figured she might as well check out what was going on. When she arrived she wasn’t the first, which made sense considering she had taken her time to get here. She hung back for the most part, eyes sweeping across the gathered group to try and pick out any familiar faces. She had spotted Blixen first but made no move towards the girl, eyes then landing on Dio for a moment before settling on Furi. 

Without trying to draw too much attention towards herself, Rose moseyed her way over to her friend while keeping an eye and ear open in case someone gave a clue as to what exactly was going on. She wasn’t even sure if she was supposed to be here, but since everyone seemed to be showing up, the yearling figured she’d stay until told otherwise.

Anyone else is still welcome to pop in! Tag for visibility. Also, no posting order!

It does not take long for them to begin to gather around. Artaax and Blixen are first and the both step up and greet her. Naturally, Bobby is not behind them in the moment but it has only been a few minutes. Behind them, Dio, then in the distance, Furi, and a moment later, a fiery girl she does not recognize. Her fur bristles at the thought but she smooths it out a beat later. The others do not react to her in a way that she should not be here so she will wait for an explanation later. From the corner of her eye, she sees the flash of white and she knows Ajatar is there. She regards her for a moment, watching @Tirgatao step up not long after her and stand near the fos goufa.

Thuringwethil licks her lips and turns back. No one has yet to speak and she nods her head, leaning back into the embrace of her children and tries to absorb all she can from them.

“I am glad to be home,” she begins, releasing a long held sigh. “Wildfire is awake but is going to stay there through the winter,” she adds, throat struggling to keep her voice even and firm. The rest of the details will be discussed later with Dio and Eske as things begin to solidify. For now, she simply wants to find a place to rest and expects the same of Eljay. She glances to him and with a point of her nose, dismisses him should he wish. The trip couldn’t have been easy on him either but they’d made it and that’s the important thing.

“I suspect I have quite a bit to catch up on,” she says, mostly toward Dio with a subtle point to the girl next to Furi.

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More of the pack came, and Artaax regarded them in turn with his usual stoic silence. His eyes lingered briefly on a fire-pelted female he did not recognize by sight, though her scent was somewhat familiar from encounters she'd had with Blixen and others. But after a moment, he blinked, and his bi-colored eyes found themselves back upon the heda expectantly.

Artaax pulled in a slow, steadying breath as she told them all of Wildfire's condition. She was awake, but would not be home until Winter had ended. His brows furrowed thoughtfully as he tried to determine just what that meant. He had never before experienced a Winter, so it was difficult for him to comprehend just how long that would be. He sensed the distress in nomi's tone though, and so he could only assume it was far longer than preferred. His expression fell as the information settled upon him, but he remained silent as his mind further inspected the information she had shared.

More arrived, all curious in their own right, and he felt his expression furrow towards a frown when the commander explained--first relief that darkened just after. Wildfire would be staying, it seemed. Instantly, he knew he didn't like it, and it spurred him into shooting a quick glance towards Blixen, then trailing to Artaax in the seconds after. How badly was she injured that she would willingly choose to stay separate from her family for the whole of wintertime? Maybe he did not grasp the entire severity of it, but wouldn't she be able to mend well here--guarded by their wolves, tended by their medics and surrounded by those she had been a focal part of not that long ago? Even understanding the perils of the journey (that could be done painstakingly carefully).. it didn't sit well. Now was her chance before winter deepened for who-knows-how long, presumably. He felt his ears tilt back, and he exhaled a soft puff of warm air as he set sights back on Thuringwethil, stoic as she could be considering the news of her mate's choice. He couldn't quite tell how bothered by this she was. It wasn't great news. Not the worst, considering Wildfire was awake now.. but this had to sting.

There was plenty he wanted to know about, from Wildfire to the rest, but it was one small surprise that Eljay had made it back with her at all. Dio's suspicions of the grayscale male choosing his blood-family over Drageda were evidently, proven incorrect. Maybe a piece of that was why he was disconcerted about Wildfire.. who he did not expect this from. "A bit, but nothing major." Dio said. All had been well here and there was nothing to worry on. "Her name is Rose," he answered, glancing her way with a swift nod. It was a place to start, and Dio would tell her all she wanted to know later (and pass a favorable word on for the potential new medic) when things on her end were infinitely more interesting. "Where's Étoille?"

Dio gives her information about the new girl quickly and she nods once but does nothing else to greet her. It isn’t the first time they’ve taken someone in in her absence but it seems more prominent these days as she takes some departure. When Wildfire comes home and Blackfeather has been swept off the face of the earth, she can rest, but until they she decides to put a halt on other things she needs to worry about. The structure of Drageda is big enough she can shift around a little power so she can focus on the important task in front of them.

“We know who did this,” she tells him, though she’s careful until she can get out of the crowd. “He’s scouting out the area. We will depart soon for the caldera once more,” hopefully for the last time, she explains with a knowing look she’ll tell him the rest later.

Last post from Furi. <3

It surprises her to see Rose by her side, distracted by her searching for her friend. No matter how many times she looks between Heda and Eljay, he doesn’t appear. And though her friend has come to stand by her, it takes considerable effort to put it behind her. She refocuses on the dark leader—she tries not to look at Blixen but she’s so close—and waits until she hears the news. Her eyes close and she looks down, taking a moment to gather herself. There’s nothing else she cares to hear—she has no attachment to Blixen’s mother—and looks to Rose, hoping to get her to leave the group with her.

also last post!

Eljay listened as words were exchanged between the wolves. A wolf named Rose was introduced and Eljay smiled at her, but didn't interrupt the conversation that was going on, feeling it might be understood as rude. He remained silent instead, just listening to words exchanged and looking around at the gathering and the wolves that he did and did not know. He felt lonely and even though he felt he had done what he should, what was just, it also felt like the decision that lay the furthest away from his heart, for he wished he could have stayed with his family at the Caldera instead.

It would do no good to linger on the past, however. Eljay waited, hanging around until the gathering would disperse, when he would go and find a place to rest, tired from the journey -- he wasn't used to travelling much, after all -- and hoping tomorrow would bring him better things.

me threee!

Thur moved into the crowd, nearing Dio and stepping away with him in an obvious effort to detach from the others so that they could have their own private conversation. Artaax watched them, his face twisting in obvious displeasure. He wanted to know more about what was happening, but it seemed now was not the time to share. He breathed in a steadying breath, though his heart pounded from frustration. Some of the others that had gathered turned to depart. Artaax watched them go - his gaze lingering on their newest addition for a moment before settling upon Blixen, his expression shifting to show the distress he was feeling - something he rarely did.

The look lasted for only a few seconds as he looked again at Thur, then stood to make his own departure.