Dragoncrest Cliffs more scar tissue than muscle memory

All welcome. Tagging everyone in Drageda for visibility. Not everyone has to join. Everyone is welcome to, though. Outsiders may join but will likely be chased off. @Dio @Wildfire @Rebekka @Hush @Portia @Tanja @Chessur @Eske

The night had largely been restless. Thuringwethil managed a little sleep in increments once her shift had been over. Resting next to Wildfire with the rest of the wolves had been comforting in ways, even if a number of them are missing. Freyja and Hvitserk are smart children and she has no doubt they made it out and are somewhere. The thought still shoots an ache through her chest but it does not deter her. They need a place to live or else those lost may not have a place to come home to. In a few days, when things have settled, they will send a search party. Until then, the children will manage to survive on their own (she has to tell herself) so she can focus on those whom have relied on her so far.

They are still meant to travel in pairs, at least for a while, but she expects a few stragglers that may not go too far. Luckily they had yet to run into another wolf not of their own but perhaps that will change in the days to come.

She finds herself away from them, though not too far should she need to call for attention, but she can't settle her restless legs. The land is vaguely familiar from her trips to the coast and the time she spent here a few days ago. The draw it has on her begins to unfold and there is plenty she has yet to explore but she recognizes the wide and open lake. Her nose drops and she laps at the cool water, thankful to have a fresh source coat her scratchy throat. She picks up her head and looks behind her the way she came but eventually her eyes turn to look over the drop from her vantage point and while she cannot see the ocean from where she stands, she can hear the crash against stone on repeat. Home.

She didn't say much after returning from the monolithic forest, though she couldn't stop thinking about the tree. Wildfire couldn't stop thinking about their lost home and the still missing faces, either. She knew she must push all these things from her mind, as she couldn't afford to dwell. It was winter and they were homeless. Everything from their dens to their stockpiles were gone.

As if on cue, the misplaced Bandrona's stomach rumbled. Gnawing at her lower lip, she milled over to join Thuringwethil on the lake shore. She meant to say, We should hunt. What came out instead was, "I found this giant fallen tree further down the coast. It was in a forest. Maybe it would make a suitable territory." Wildfire paused, ears flicking in response to the pounding surf in the backdrop. "Unless," she continued slowly, chestnut eyes fixed on the commander's eyes as if reading something there, "we intend to stay here..."

I hope a little PP is okay. :)

The footsteps behind her cause her to tense first but the whiff of her mate tells her it is for naught. She still does not ease the tension and slowly turns to see the fiery girl in her direction. Thuringwethil flashes a smile and wave of her tail, taking a few steps to close the remaining distance. With things as weird as they have been, she hasn’t felt her time spent with her mate has been put to good use and she worries it may be some time before they can really reunite once again. So much has appeared on her plate in the last few days that she hardly has time to think about anything else but Wildfire sneaks around al that still and Thuringwethil is more thankful for it than annoyed.

Wildfire’s suggestion causes her eyes to turn further south as if she can see where she’s talking about but she mulls it over. The forest may have been one she’d been in the las time she had been here but a giant fallen tree hadn’t been noted. She does not linger on it long and instead turns to look to the other side of the lake.

“Come with me,” she murmurs, leaning in to nudge her cheek before she picks up her gait and trots along the shore of the lake.

Through the thickening foliage and densely placed trees, Thuringwethil makes her way through with Wildfire on her heels. She weaves through as if she’s done it a hundred times already but the feeling of newness and excitement manages to shine through. Eventually they come to a dip in the earth where a natural dam occurs and a trickle of water falls from the lake. A curve of stone leads several feet to the left with a rough enough pattern that she will not slip and fall all the way down. The earth gives way in a circle that leads down into a cavern, illuminated by the daylight still present.

“It is like a different world down here,” she says, glancing to the side. “It reminds me of Seageda.”

Thuringwethil didn't respond. Instead, she asked Wildfire to come with her. The Bandrona went, partly because she would follow the commander anywhere and also because she was too tired to do anything but obey. They walked in silence, Wildfire's the distracted, pensive sort. She didn't really notice their surroundings much; she was busy aching over the holes left behind when their home and pack mates were ripped from them without warning.

She didn't even notice their surroundings until her mate's voice snapped her out of it. Her gaze drifted upward from the ground and she blinked several times as she took in the scenery. The fur along her spine prickled a little when she realized they were within a cavern, yet it was so spacious, wide open and airy that it fell flat a moment later. Her black tail twitched side to side and though she could not compare it to Seageda—never having been there—she could appreciate the picturesque views.

"It's kind of pretty," she said, "for a cave." Her lip curled in a faint smile. "This area seems pretty diverse. I bet it could sustain a pack," Wildfire observed.

There is hesitancy in Wildfire’s voice that unsettles Thuringwethil. She frowns and turns a glance toward her mate. Assuming the distress is simply the events over the last several days, having to uproot from their home and find something else, Thuringwethil dismisses it quickly. Instead, she tries to encourage her with a gentle lick across her cheek as her mate tries to offer words of support.

“This is where I was before,” she says quietly, nudging her cheek as she pulls away and urges her forward. The back of the cavern gets a little darker but she knows where the tunnel is. Uncertain how the girl will feel following in the dark, she keeps her close until she comes out on the other side to find low tide pulling the ocean back and the opening clear for them to pass around the large stone cliffs. “I felt a calm here I have not in a long time and I think… I think this is where we are meant to be. I think the commanders were trying to tell me in my dreams what was going to happen and…” she trails off, uncertain of what she really wanted to say.

Instead of finishing, Thuringwethil moves along a stony path to an opening where a small stretch of beach is surrounding by the dangerous cliffs of Dragoncrest. It is blocked further south by a jutting wall that prevents anyone from safely entering and lines with stone on their backside to keep it secluded. “This is where I would like us to stay.”

Wildfire leaned into the gestures of affection, then followed as Thuringwethil led the way deeper into the cavern. She did hesitate a bit as the air darkened around them. "Thur..." she said haltingly, feeling an unpleasant flutter in her stomach. "Have I ever told you about my fear of caves? Heh?" She swallowed, trying to cough up the courage to trail after her mate, especially as the commander described the sense of peace and calm this place offered her. Somehow, she managed, sticking close to the Heda's hip until they traversed a tunnel that opened up onto the beach.

A ragged breath burst out of her as Wildfire hastened toward the open air. "Sorry," she was quick to say, rounding on Thuringwethil. "I'll adjust." I hope, she added inwardly. Her lips twitched into a faint smile. "I can see that you like it here. We should stay," Wildfire continued, in case there was any doubt she supported her mate's decision to lay down their roots right here.

Wildfire’s confession causes her head to tilt and her eyes to narrow in confusion. She tries to think back to something similar that she may have been told but nothing makes it known to her. They’ve been living in a cave for a while now, much smaller than the cavern she’s giving to Drageda to share, and she blinks a few times once she shakes her head to answer. “What about the cave we stayed in?” she asks, throat drying up with worry that this might not be the place for them. Her feelings of home feel unsettled and lost despite Wildfire’s admission to attempting to make it so, a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth.

A crooked smile flashed across her ruddy face. "I don't know," she admitted, "it was different. It was home. It was you." Her lips pressed together as she scanned the cave behind them now, eyes still a little uneasy. Her gaze eventually wandered back to her mate. "I'm sure the same thing will happen here. It'll become the exception. It'll be home." Hoping that sufficed, Wildfire stretched out her snout to nuzzle the commander's neck. She actually wasn't sure how quickly or even if she would get totally used to it but, well, she could do the whole fake-it-'til-you-make-it thing.

Turning now to stare at the rather breathtaking views, Wildfire declared softly, "New Drageda..."

Thuringwethil has questions she wants to ask but a smile forms on her face anyway, determining this will still be their new home. Even as she worried she may have chosen the right place, watching her to stare out to sea and announce it gives her a little tremor. Maybe it is the right decision after all. They’ll give over the speedbumps along the way. Sleeping Dragon hadn’t been a perfect endeavor and surely this won’t either. Thuringwethil scoots a little closer and lowers her nose to nudge the top of Wildfire’s head.