Dragoncrest Cliffs and the sky is gray

The sudden appearance of a bloodied Verx on Drageda's borders marked troubling times for the Opkepa. She didn't know if his wounds were meant to serve as a warning from their enemy or had simply been a result of his own foolishness, either way it didn't really matter. Something had to been done seeing as the cliffside was in a state of vulnerability like never before and if anyone denied that fact then their judgment was clouded by arrogant pride.

No matter how she looked at it Drageda had grown weak, a mere fragment of what it had once been during Heda's reign. She didn't want to blame @Blixen or @Dio for poor leadership but coincidentally enough, that's exactly what she did. Artaax had been missing since Heda's death and yet had not been labeled Natrona, Ephraim was apparently locked within Hougeda for trying to leave (which Rose honestly couldn't blame him for) and attacking Blixen. Not to mention, Aure looked as if she could deliver within the coming days and all the while war continued to creep towards their doorstep once more.

What was this pointless war over anyways? Territory? Rose couldn't remember how it started which was ironic seeing as how this whole feud had begun because of her. But whatever, the past didn't matter right now. What mattered was what they were going to do about this situation and she intended to make sure something was done one way or another. So with a low howl the Opkepa summoned the leadership to meet with her, hopeful they'd take the time to hear out her concerns.

she's frustrated in a way not even mallaidh can soothe, spending her days pacing the border anxiously. ephraims whereabouts are a vague thing at the time of this thread so something about ephraim is also weighing on her, what specifically, stay tuned to find out. in any case: bad all around. she is glad verx is alive, less glad that by all metrics, they need to retaliate against the sound for this injury -- otherwise it will be clear how ... fuck, how messed up it all is right now.

there is something else on her mind, but she doesn't want to think about it yet. not until rose's call, anyway -- which summons her quickly, worried, at first, that some new terrible thing has happened. but rose doesn't look hurt, only pensive. "what is it?" she asks, getting right to the point (probably without waiting for dio, sorry bud).

Times are tense. It isn't good, he knew well, and it has him frustrated, sleep-deprived, and driven largely by a cold, sorrowful rage as he makes his rounds day after day. Often it's a cyclic route over the borderlands, on guard if needed, then on to check in with Aure to assure that Verx's state hasn't taken a turn for the worse at some point or that she didn't need anything. Sometimes he sends Opalia to investigate for him when he can't.. but that whole situation is a right mess, and one that he can't keep away from his focus even with everything else bearing down too—something has to be done, and this has to end.

With the skayona surely closing in on her whelping, and Verx far, far from well in the wake of his attack, they have a glaring vulnerability that peacetime would easily nurture, but they have no such luxury. Not now, and not without strife.. so it would seem.

All the same, he came trotting to the call expecting the worst already and arrived tailing Blixen by a few beats. Without saying so, his searching stare echoes the wormana's question, though nothing seemed blatantly amiss with anyone here, anyway. As he eased in beside Blixen, he was keeping his options open, however, because bad news was aplenty here on the cliffs. What was some more? What now?

The pair arrived rather quickly, appearing concerned and anxious much to Rose's surprise. Her call had not been urgent or ominous, only requesting their presence and still they showed up assuming to expect the worst. Was that truly how awful life had become on the cliffs? Had they finally reached the point where all news was taken with fear of it being some horrible report? That wasn't a life at all, which is exactly why'd she summoned them here in the first place.

"We need to leave the cliffside."

There was no beating around the bush or easing into what she suggested, only the cold statement of what she believed to be Drageda's only option. It was not safe here for them anymore, especially not when they had children on the way. All the two leaders had to do was look around and witness what had become of the almighty Drageda to see how far they've truly fallen. I mean just look at them now! Both Blixen and Dio had arrived seemingly expecting some awful news. Who wants to live that way?

we need to leave the cliffside.

it's not what she expected -- or is it, maybe, if she's being honest with herself. somewhere blix knows she isn't as good at pretending to be put together as she thinks she is, and rose has always been, admirably, causticly, honest. there's no way for them to continue to peacefully ignore their neighbors now -- not after verx's attack -- but blix has been through one war already and though drageda was ultimately successful in that endeavor, they are not in a position to do the same here. they don't have heda. they don't have the backup of the redhawks anymore -- not after wildfire's betrayal. never in a million years will blix keep that relationship. 

"you're right," she says bluntly, glancing at dio. the thought of leaving the cliffs permanently makes her stomach burn -- even when she was planning on leading a new branch, she'd wanted to stay close, and nomi would still... hell. but -- rose has left her childhood home, mallaidh has too. blixen knows -- knows now that it's not the end of the world. maybe. 

but. blix also knows that she's not equipped to oversee a full pack move -- not in their weakened state -- and honestly, she's not equipped to do any of this at all. "drageda can't continue on in this state," she says aloud, a little hesitant lest dio think she's disparaging his leadership. "i think... maybe we should return to the new heda."

The opkepa veers them quick to a looming notion, and though he shows the tips of his teeth in a slow, lingering grimace, this isn't new to him--not in the least. It's just louder now than ever before, but that doesn't mean he likes it. The biggest concern has always been if not here, where? Then when? And now, right this instant, at very entrance to spring and with one mother very soon to whelp. He couldn't imagine the stress and the strain, and if there was only one saving grace to ever be found in Portia's untimely death, it was that he did not have to see her through the same--or any of this constant misery, for that matter.

His shoulders were still tense, even as the wormana confirmed. He didn't disagree, though, and met her glance with the smallest nod he could. The cliffs had taken from them, then left them bruised and beaten afterward. They had all failed when heda had left them and even in the aftermath, he knew it wasn't good, and neither was it getting better with the situation at large beyond. No part of him could fault Blixen, Rose, or any of them for feeling this way.

As for the new heda, the trip would not be an easy, or brief one. He had never made the trip to any of the other packs, his place rooted to here after they had fled from the volcano.. and with the new threat of upheaval, he was only numb. Really, he had been for a long time, so it comes far easier than he planned for it to. These last several months have worn him down more than all of his years combined. It's what, a week's travel at best? he said, still considering the logistics here once he got past the hurdle of leaving here, where his wife's grave lie and where his offspring had grown and flourished. To have it all end like this...? It isn't good.

Still, the distance worried him, and not knowing what awaited for them there didn't bode well either. What if war had come upon them or one of their other branches too, and they would only be trading their problems for another. They really didn't have time to send scouts and organize a real, smooth transition though, unless they wanted to continue as they were. We leave a lot at stake by doing so, but we cannot keep losing like this, he agreed. But I know nowhere else we could go. Even here in the Teekon, it may only be a matter of time before we face all the same all over again, he said. Going to the new heda could at least offer them some support, instead of simply flinging themselves into the wilds blind and wounded.