The Sentinels two verses

All welcome! The wolf she's thinking of is @Aria by the way~ :)

The sun was at its golden and most glorious zenith, but the world beneath was far from it. The great forest that Lucani had so recently called home was stripped of its luscious green, and lay now in a brown-and-grey state of disrepair. Clouds of ugly locusts still flew hither and thither, taking what they could, though the swarm was far less grand and fierce than it had been earlier. It was like a storm receding, leaving behind sheer devastation. Among it all was Lucani, who despite being semi-incapacitated by a weakening illness had not slept for a very long time. She had to do her part for Donnelaith. So although her pace was slow and painful, the tall grey female spent hour after hour storing away remaining medical caches, picking and hiding herbs, and seeking the lost. Heavy in her mind were two thoughts twinned in their intensity. One, a calm determination that would not slow. And two... who was the girl? Just before she'd passed out at the height of the swarm's attack, Lucani had caught a lingering glimpse of a stunning beautiful young female whose image had haunted her ever since. She frowned faintly as she followed the river, curious if the young stranger had even been real. But as she looked out over the battered landscape, she knew at least one thing to be real: her story, in the wake of this disaster, had changed once again.

haven't had a thread with you since Ishi <3 so glad to have one of your wolves nearby one of mine!

The sentinels are ugly and naked, stripped of their beautiful green leaves and lovely underbrush. The newly appointed Alphess of Donnelaith is at a loss for words, she has never seen anything like this before and has absolutely no idea what to do about it. Do they leave? Where do they go? Perhaps they would follow the prey-- where would the prey go? Surely it would die out... most of their hunted prey were herbivores, they won't last long if all of Teekon is bare. She does not want to speak to Lasher or Dante about it, she fears for the fate of the pack and does not want to be reminded of reality. 

She walks through the barren territory now, her white eyes vaguely focused on the anything. She stands out more in the spring than she did in the winter-- and has been unknowingly mistaken for a ghost on a number of occasions. The scar on her shoulder was mostly covered by fur in the winter, as it was so thick, but now it was a dark pink and easily seen. She pauses as she goes, sitting on the dirt covered ground (did they eat the grass? i feel like they did ):) and letting out a soft sigh. What had happened to her beautiful home? 

Yay! <3

Lucani roamed a while longer, quite exhausted but not stopping. She knew her limits, and would cease only when she was inches from those limits. She had devoted herself to Donnelaith, and dared not shirk from her responsibilities. New and subordinate she was, and not part of the family that had claimed these lands, but none of this effected her desire to be of service. But on her way back from depositing a few loose greens at the herb cave, Lucani paused in her step. For there, sitting alone among the carnage, was her. The girl. And she was even more beautiful than the grey wolf remembered, her fur as white as snow, her form as sweet as a young willow, and her eyes... she couldn't see her eyes, but at this moment she desired nothing more than to do so.

Although more or less dead on her paws, the tall wolf retained her dignity and was calm and graceful as she approached. Hello, said the woman softly. She gave a respectful bow, but was unable to take her eyes off this ethereal stranger.

Aria's head turned. She looks to see a gray wolf-- old but kind looking. Her head dips, and she reminds herself that the polite thing to do would be to stand, so she does. The pale girl stands tall, her should straight and head high as always. The other woman had bowed, but her eyes remain locked on her. Aria could not help but wonder why, as usually she tried not to stare at others-- perhaps she had met this wolf before? 

"Hello," she murmurs in response, her head tilting slightly to the side. Her eyes narrow, looking the other woman over. She is much taller than herself, but perhaps skinnier. Aria is thin, but it is of a healthier sort and her thick fur often distracts from her thin figure. "You are new, yes?" she then asks, her luminous eyes still held on the other.

Although quite astonished by this otherworldly beauty, Lucani was a poised and peaceful wolf. So she maintained an aura of composure and courtesy, and at the smoothly dominant stance of the youth she lowered her own ears and stood with further respect. So it seemed the angel she'd seen among the locusts was real... albeit still entirely unknown to her.

Indeed, she obliged. My name is Lucani Cygnus, a nomadic healer who came to Donnelaith very recently. She did not elaborate, for she wanted to know more about this creature. Or at least hear her voice again.

The other seemed respectful still, and Aria's ears perked. "Lucani... it is a pleasure," she replies, her head dipping in greeting. "I am Aria January, Donnelaith's second Alpha-- I assume you've met Lasher already?" she introduces then, and inquires of her lover. No one knows of their relationship, but it's clear that the young girl has always held the Mayfair in high regards. "I am a scout, but I do have a history with medicine," she adds, always loving to find another wolf who loves healing. Eilidh was one of those wolves, and was teaching Deirdre. 

Aria then frowns, her tail lowering slightly. "I would offer to show you our garden-- it was newly planted and growing very well-- but of course it is barren now," 

Aria January. The first name was melodious, the second was romantic — it spoke of a new year and fresh snow. Beautiful, like the girl herself, whom it transpired was the Alpha Female of Donnelaith... a certain surprise to Lucani, who had thought the Alpha Female was Lasher's wife Blue Willow. Having come from Sleeping Dragon, she was not at all dubious about one so young holding a rank so high, but she was curious about her story and how it fit in with the story of Lasher — and of Donnelaith.

But that would come in time, if she could to know the girl better — which she had every intention of doing.

Yes, I've met Lasher. And the pleasure's all mine, she replied with courtesy and honesty. I would be honoured to see where the garden once stood, if I may. Perhaps there's something we can salvage for medicine.

The girl dips her head. "I'd love to show you," she replies, and smiles. "Follow me," she then beckons and begins towards the garden. Even though Donneliath is bare, she knows her way around-- the territory is large and mapped fully in her head, she hasn't gotten lost in ages. 

"Lasher is kind," she says, beginning small talk for their walk there. "His mate Blue Willow stepped down not too long ago to care for their children. Lasher only just asked me to step up as Alpha-- I have been the packs Beta for a number of months though," she tells the other with a small smile. 

She was appreciative when Aria shared the tale of her high status without Lucani needing to nudge her for it. The grey wolf found this happened often — for she loved hearing the stories of others, and had learned that hearing them required patience and respect. So Blue Willow had stepped down to focus on parenting instead of leadership — this was respectable, and far better than other reasons why one might drop their rank.

Congratulations, she said warmly as she walked at the white beauty's side. Lucani was silently glad that she herself was so tall, or, being weakened by illness, she might not have been able to keep up with one so youthful and sprightly. If you don't mind my saying so, I have always found it exceptionally impressive when someone so young reaches such heights.

Her tail wags as Lucani compliments her. She had been told something similar before by Osprey-- but Lucani had said it much kinder she felt. She smiles and looks to the other, giving a gentle shrug. "Thank you-- but I really am only doing my job as a member of the pack," she explains. It probably sounds cliche and brown-nosey, but she's being completely honest. "I guess it just paid off,"

Lucani hadn't known why she hadn't been granted the rank of Beta at Sleeping Dragon, despite having hoped and worked for a promotion. While the temptation was to make assumptions, such as her being neither young nor fierce enough to stand with her two young, fierce Alphas, Lucani had managed to avoid this temptation, and had decided respectfully that the pair had had good reason to keep her at Gamma. Regardless, she had much more humble ambitions here at Donnelaith. Her desire was to work as hard as she could so that she'd remain welcome among their ranks, despite her illness.

As for Aria (ah this melodious princess), Lucani could not help but observe: if simply doing your job was reason enough, Donnelaith would have half a dozen Alphas by now. The tall female gave a faint, reassuring smile down at the girl walking with her. She had an exceptional desire to put Aria on a pedestal and, if allowed, dote on her.

The girl blushes immedeatly, her head shaking at the implied compliment. "I suppose-- but some people don't actually do their job. It's more than just border patrols and hunts," she continues. Aria leads on, pressing her nose to the ground occasionally to make sure they were headed in the right direction. She pauses, her nose crinkling as she looks around. The scents were distorted by the locusts, muddied with disgusting insect smells. She knows the forest well enough, but it's always nice to know the way around via scent as well. She pushes on.

"You have to be respectful, know your place in the pack and be mindful of everyone else's. Not everyone pursues trades either. Each wolf has a special talent-- something they can bring to the pack in order to better it. Those who only do the minimum of patrols and hunts are only barely doing their job," she explains, hoping she's making some sort of sense.

Aria's bashfulness made Lucani's heart twinge — this girl was exceptionally charming.

That's a very good point, she replied, and smiled to find someone so young finding wisdom so swiftly. It was curious to think how different Aria was from two other young female Alphas she knew, but it seemed she, like them, was a very promising leader.

It was then they came across an open patch of devastated soil. Is this the garden...? she asked gently.

They soon came across the garden-- or at least what was left of it. There were a number of rocks and roots poking out in all directions, but not a single leaf was seen. Lucani questions it, and Aria shrugs in reply. "Was the garden," she says, her head dipping to sniff at the remains. Her nose crinkles, and she shakes her head. "I can't even tell you what was placed where-- it all just smells like bugs," she says, letting out a light sneeze of pure disgust. She pads around the overturned dirt to the other side, staring at the elder from the other side. She says nothing, but gives a gentle shrug.

Since discovering Aria's rank, Lucani's posture had become submissive, tail low between her graceful ankles and her ears flat. Her muzzle was low, too, but she was a very tall female and could not hide the fact that the petite Arctic Wolf was dwarfed by her. Regardless, it was clear looking at them who had the higher rank.

It was sad but inevitable to see the garden for the first time in such a poor state. Come now, there will still be roots beneath the soil, I'm sure of it. Damaged, of course, and most of it irreparably — but it meant that there was hope. Which was the most common medical herb here? she asked, gaze searching the tortured soil.

i'm honestly not sure what is going to be planted there! we haven't made it that far in the original thread lol. feel free to make stuff up, i'm sure plenty of what she needs would have been planted. (:

Aria nods, her tail waving behind her. She noses a loose branch, flipping it over in the dirt. The girl looks up and shrugs, only mildly aware of the fact that everything would probably grow back. She lists a few of the herbs that she'd helped plant, but then shrugs again. "The little things are probably long gone though," she tells Lucani, biting her lower lip in thought. "Everything was relatively young, I'm not sure how much would have stayed," she adds.

It was draining to see this garden (beautiful as she imagined it had once been) so emaciated. Logic told her to agree with Aria, but she didn't want to give up just yet. So, slowly but surely, the ill female set about looking closely and sniffing for any remaining roots or seeds below the surface. There had to be some hope around here somewhere.

wrapping this up here! sorry for the wait <3

Aria nods to the other and begins to look for seeds and roots along with the old woman. They spent the rest of the day looking, coming across a handful of still useful seeds and roots. Aria told Lucani she'd bring them to Eilidh and Blue, and told the elder woman to keep some for herself to make her own cache-- the more the merrier right? Still upset with the situation, Aria couldn't help but feel down after leaving Lucani's presence, but nothing a good nights sleep couldn't fix.