Starglow Basin Didn't think I'd see the rest of the year

@Soto

Arslan finds that as of recent months disappearing into thin air has become a talent of his. The only issue is that when he disappears, he is not meant to come back; twice over he has reappeared despite this. Maybe it was his soft spot for his sisters, maybe it was the idea of clawing open Cinar that appealed to him. He understood that when he left home he would be replaced by a brother, but it had hit a nerve nonetheless.

Kemal had come to him, he thought it strange at the time for he understood it was @Hira following him. An explanation had been given, and with some hesitation they had travelled home to Siena. The plan had been to confront Cinar, to claim justice for Narin and ensure the safety of their sisters; and yet when they arrived, the territory was completely empty.

They had spent some time searching, but with no leads or success found they turned back towards the Teekons. After some debate, Arslan decided on returning to Verapaz with his tail between his legs. Kemal said he would follow, and they would call for Hira to join them.

Now the question was if they would be successful. Head lifting, he called for Soto. There was no apology in his tone, not yet. Only triumph. A warrior returning from a vicious battle.

He follows his brother, for it is what he feels that he is meant to do. Stoic and stood tall, he lingers behind the smaller brother with eyes that reveal no emotion beneath them.

Over time he has learned that a calm demeanor can have far more benefits than the dramatics encouraged for the men of his family. To show his temper is to reveal his hand.

He holds no anger towards Hira or his other sisters, and Leandros' willingness to assist him is the only reason for him being here now. To have arrived home to a barren land and his family gone had left him lost, and without anywhere else to go.

His brother had given him little information of what was here for them, whether or not he would stay and whether or not he would encourage Hira to join them he did not know. For all he knew Leandros could be wrong and they would be turned away all together.

when first arslan’s proud tune split over the pass, soto sits up with his hair lifting in quills. 

he sweeps towards the man at a loose trot, his hardened eye betraying what the stoicism of his face would not. 

why is he here? castel informed him of the man’s defecting, and this coupled with the slender man to arslan’s back draws soto’s suspicion. 

he halts just short of them both, his body language demanding explanation.

Soto comes and the lion meets him with a smile. There is still an understanding that their communication is limited, so his eyes ask for forgiveness where he cannot. Kemal will be of more use for speaking here than himself, a life of travel does that, though he is unsure if his brother will do anything but stand in silence without direct orders; he has always been strange in that way.

He looks to Kemal with a look that speaks clearly; 'behave yourself' which is rather hypocritical with Arslan's own often vulgar behaviour. Head turned back halfway to the Verapaz man, he exchanges brief words. My brother. He tells him.

It's a bit of a pain. He should have taken the time to learn a common language while they were here; the wolves of Siena were expected to speak Turkish, so why should he not learn the common of other packs? It certainly would have made this easier, even if it would have ruined his previous enjoyment.

He will keep himself in check for now. Kemal nor Hira know of his preferences or particular hobbies, and he is not looking for them to find out. Besides that a nasty bite would be a pain - but he would prefer that if he had to choose between the two.

He is still as the stranger approaches, tension in his stance. Leandros seems to know him, and that brings some comfort. His brother would not speak much of the packs wolves on their way to the basin.

His head lowers from it's tall post, nose twitching as he observes the two. It feels strange to see his usually rowdy brother be so compliant, the silence nearly unnerving.

After a short moment he returns to his previous calm demeanor. He will wait for the time being, see what happens.

my brother, the lion declares. soto knows enough of his abhorrent tongue to know this means hermano.

he looks between the two, suspicious and studying the expression in arslan’s deep set eyes; the emotion conveying something the tongue could not. 

it is the hermano’s bow that eases some of soto’s misgivings. flicking his gaze past the exposed region of the man’s nape, soto thinks. 

arslan had left. castel had been clear of this. and now he comes back, touting a sibling with him. perhaps this is why he’d gone to the oasis? or perhaps some other reason. 

soto knows he won’t get to the bottom of it now, with their language barrier. he wishes bushtit was here - his young acolyte who showed so much promise. 

his mind has been made. he jerks his head back, indicating both to follow him. 

if they are to be welcome back, they must work for his trust first. 

and soto has plenty of work.

They are given the gesture to follow, and Arslan is quick to perk up. Moving to obey, he is quick to stand shoulder to flank - though careful not to touch this time.

Eyes flick back to Kemal, his far larger brother clearly showing more hesitation than himself. Sakin ol aptal. He grunts to him, flicking his ear. He can tell from the look in his eyes; Kemal is worrying far more than he should. Arslan on the other hand is confident in their success.

It is no different than it always has been; Leandros ever the optimist, Kemal a natural pessimist. Of their seven siblings, they were each an individual end of the spectrum.

He wonders what is different now; if Leto has fallen pregnant, if Beau is still around.

His brother's eager response to an order only rises more questions. While Leandros was fast to follow with his shoulder to the man's flank, Kemal showed more restraint.

Stiff paws moved forward after a moment, hanging further back than Leandros chose to. His brother speaks in their mother tongue, the words furrowing Kemal's brow. He returns a grunt in response; if anyone needs to calm down here, it certainly is not him.

Eyes graze over the strange territory in front of them. It is not so different from their home, and that alone is enough to give him a small amount of comfort. A familiar terrain makes it easier to move, to fight, to serve.

these brothers inspire a sense of longing in soto, for they remind him of his own brother. how juarez had always been the bold one. the one with brio. the face of their operation and the voice of their pack.

and like kemal soto had always hung behind; slow to move after his brother, who bounced from thing to thing like a grasshopper where soto was the careful beetle; moving undetected through the grasses with one eye ever pinned skyward.

they come to the arid expanse of luneshale and soto turns to them both.

to arslan, the lion who had left once already and therefore, owed more than his brother: find fiamma, she will have work for you. the acerbic-tongued she-wolf had earned soto's esteem, and he was confident arslan would be put to work.

to the silent goliath. follow me. they would mark luneshale's perimeters in tandem, making it known to all that verapaz claimed this desolate stretch of land.

Soto provides an order, and while the displeasure is clear on his face, he departs without complaint to find the woman the other speaks of. Arslan knew there would be a task, and he knew he should not expect it to be enjoyable.

He did not spare Kemal another thought as he departed. The brother was the size of a bear in his mind, and about as ugly as one too. If he was off of Arslan's back, then he would be able to return to some of his previous depravities. It was something he simply could not and would not resist.

Leandros leaves upon the order of the stranger. Kemal wishes he would not be stripped of his only familiar face, but it cannot be helped.

He follows after Soto. Marking is an easy task, one he is used to; there is no room for wailing or whining here. There is no viable reason for it. Instead, he focuses on the new land in front of him.