Sleeping Dragon Forgive me, if you can

@Thuringwethil @Gyda Ok so the plan for my absence is that Hush, while returning from this thread and scouting a bit was caught by the locust swarm and fled into hiding. He spent a few days hidden in Redtail Rise and emerged, confused by the utter lack of plantlife and wandered about until he got his bearing and returned to Drageda.

Hush couldn't get used to the simple lack of life. Never had he ever seen such a desolate place; even winter held some traces of living creatures. It seemed like the rapture had swept through, taking all of the "pure" creatures and leaving the sinners. He wasn't religious, but he would believe that. He hadn't seen a trace of life, wolf or prey, since the two wolves at the marsh. Only recently had he gotten the nerve to return back to Drageda. Were they even there? Was he the last wolf in Teekon Wilds?

Now that wasn't true at all, but it certainly felt like that. Hush's body, while always thin, seemed to shrink overnight. Prey was nonexistant. The plants were gone. Nothing was alive.

But the Sleeping Dragon still remained, and so did its pack, remarkably. He huffed in his pack's scent, relieved by its presence, and tipped his head back, calling for his Queens. He didn't know that one of them was pregnant, but if he did he would be even more frightened. Hell was no place to raise children.

The call pulls her attention to the borders. She picks herself up, her lithe form sunken in but hidden by thick tufts of dark fur. If she moved just right, she could avoid how slim she’d become, but longer exposure would expose what she tries to hide. The voice is familiar and she focuses on that, for the moment, instead of her own problems. Hush’s absence hadn’t gone unnoticed but he’d been lost in the mix when the locusts turned up and what little scouting she did, had found no trail.

If he’d been smart, he would have moved with the herds away from the territory, and perhaps he returns with good news—though their communication would be limited. Thuringwethil feels the benefit settle into her mind as she approaches the smaller wolf, thinned out and more of his heritage of coyote-like form shows. Her features soften, but her eyes remain hardened and stony, as she chuffs a quiet greeting to her own.

Vague because I denno what happens exactly in the heat thread :o

The call that rose into the air, carried easily by the skeletal limbs of what remained of their home was instantly recognizable to the Viking Queen. She paused for the briefest of moments before she buried the bone and gristle of her pathetic and meager meal and padded towards the borders, which she'd been close to. A lot of her time was spent hunting, less out of selfish need and more in the interest of ensuring that she and the children growing within her womb did not starve to death. Her appetite had since increased much over the past three weeks, though the initial nausea had (thankfully) subsided. Her body was changing — she could feel it.

As she closed the distance between her previous position and from where Hush's call had risen she contemplated the torrent of emotions she felt within herself. Relief that he was alive, betrayal that he had vanished (though admittedly it wasn't as if he could have told them where he was going), and anger that if it had been betrayal that he dared to show up...but Gyda did not think the silent coywolf had abandoned them. Surely, if he had, he would not be showing up on their doorstep and call to them. Gyda and Thuringwethil were individually threatening women (as had been proved to Gyda when she'd made Storm pee himself), but together ...she wondered what they looked like together: the warrior goddesses women of the slumbering dragon.

Her pace slowed when her icy Caribbean gaze touched upon Thuringwethil, though it moved past the ebony Heda to Hush who waited patiently on the opposite of the borders. The wrong side, she felt. Admittedly, it would be hard for him to explain to them where he'd gone and why he'd been gone for so long, and Gyda lingered on the fence about it, unsure of what would happen. “Hush,” The expecting mother spoke to him. “You are alive.” She spoke her observation out loud, allowing her relief to lace into her tone. If nothing else, she was glad that he was alive, even though his fate and it's ties to the Dragon remained unknown to the shield-maiden at present.

It didn't take long for his Queens to arrive, one slightly bigger than he was expecting. But no matter their size or current status, Hush was happy, no excited to see them here on Drageda. He whimpered softly at their presence, then went into full blown, albeit gargled, yips and whines of happiness. He jumped forward and licked their chins vigorously, his body pressed down in a submissive posture as he begged their forgiveness and expressed his relief through his body. He had no other way of communicating, but his actions spoke louder than any words could express. He was glad to be home.

It doesn't surprise Thuringwethil when Gyda approaches. There has always been a fondness for the silent wolf from the queen, and catching the way the words roll off her tongue only confirms the feelings still remain. The corners of her lips twitch but she opens her jaws and her tongue wipes across her muzzle to hide the gesture. With a snap, the small wolf is on the ground in a flurry of fur and dust, reaching to each of their chins in greeting. Thuringwethil lifts her nose a little higher as he touches her but once he retreats, she glances toward Gyda for her reaction.

The barrier they face in that moment puts a frown on her features but she softens, given their circumstance. With the locusts still fresh in their minds, and a famine plaguing the lands, one less mouth to feed has been a little easier on them with a full hierarchy. The turn around the corner, she eases up the tension between her shoulders and offers, only once: "don't let it happen again."

While he might not have been able to speak to explain his absence from the Dragon, Gyda did not feel that his intentions were anything less than pure — though, admittedly, her fondness for the mute could have left the Viking Queen blind. Still, he lowered himself in submission, released an onslaught of yips and whimpers of excitement at their presence and leapt towards them with a vigor that would it have been anyone but Hush would have Gyda stepping back in dominance and defense. The life she was carrying was the (second) most important thing to her. She did tense for only a second — though the gesture was not meant to be offensive or aggressive. His lick was that of submission (and perhaps an further expression of his joy) and the Viking Queen accepted it. “Are you injured?” Gyda asked him, after Thuringwethil had expressed the warning. “You should eat something, too.” Even pregnant, Gyda fussed over her subordinates — though admittedly being pregnant probably didn't help her mama bear tendencies any. There wasn't much they could spare him — their caches were depleted (something a pregnant Gyda with an unfortunately increased appetite knew all too well) but she wanted to see him taken care of, nevertheless. He was a Dragon, he was one of her people and Gyda would do for him what she could. She glimpsed over to Thuringwethil, then, curious as to why Thuringwethil did not immediately label him a deserter and turn him away. For a moment, Gyda's gaze softened with affection for the Commander before she looked back to Hush quickly, hoping that Thuringwethil had not noted it.

Hush rolled onto his back, his body exposed in a servile matter, his neck exposed (more for Thurin's sake than Gyda's) in a servile fashion. He was already made content by Gyda's worrying, compassionate tones — he was glad that she had the capacity to care even in these dark times. He had seen a flash of something positive in Heda's eyes before she snorted sternly, but he took that as it was.

He gave Gyda one more lick and jumped to his feet, already feeling his head swimming from the mass burning of energy. He would readily cross the entirety of Teekon Wilds to find food for his pack, his pregnant queen. But she was right, he needed to eat. He would eat little though, for she needed it more than he.

Feel free to wrap up or continue without me. :)

Hush's excitement eventually wanes through his submission and her eyes travel over his small, near emaciated form. Exposing his neck doesn't go unnoticed and she nods her head, once, and when he's back on his feet, she knows to take her retreat. Her warning came across and Gyda takes on the rest of the inspection. She gives the queen a knowing look—she is glad to have the male back—and turns to leave.

feel free to post once more or archive as is @Hush

Hush offered her one last lick to her chin and after she nodded a silent farewell to Thuringwethil watching as Heda departed before she turned her attention back to Hush who seemed delightfully eager. It was refreshing, she had to admit. “Come, lets get you something to eat and then I can check you over for injuries.” He looked alright, granted, but she wanted to make sure. She gestured with her muzzle for him to lead the way knowing that he would, no doubt, be much faster than her.