Dragoncrest Cliffs waiting for the 7.18

 Étoille has never in his life been so tired. He has traveled far and wide, sure, but always at a pace of leisure, dedicating his days to a carefully cultivated ease. Making himself useful for Drageda has proven to be something precious, but there is a physical toll. 

 Still. He is glad for the successful outcome, even if Wildfire had to be left at the Caldera for now. He is glad to have proven himself to Heda - he likes the way his new title, Rauna, feels in his mouth. He is glad to have a home to return to - and choupinou as well, who is, he supposes, something like a ward to him. Though he would never say so aloud and risk Eske's fury. 

 The titan is tired but nonetheless awake, and so has walked fairly northward, towards the cliffs as close as he's able. The view of the sea is breathtaking - a soothing image for him even still. With a contented sigh he settles, one paw folded over the other, and watches the ocean in peaceful silence.

Ajatar does not mind her time spent alone. She does not know these wolves and the few she does know either is in some other pack or scarcely around Drageda. Tirgatao has been busy helping Eske where she needs and now that Thuringwethil and the others returned, equally busy with matters she doesn’t have an opinion about. She should be shadowing behind Thuringwethil, seeing how she handles things but she’s seen enough to know she doesn’t think she’ll be able to learn much from her. Instead of butting in, she decides to wait until things calm down to see what she can garner from spending time with the current Heda.

Even though her mind wanders about the ongoings of Drageda, she’s acutely aware of her surroundings. She doesn’t have a particular direction in mind but she notes the scent of another, someone familiar, in the distance and her feet begin to direct her that way. It is the brute that had gone on both missions, lingering near the northern cliffs that open up into the ocean, and nothing but empty, unclaimed line further up. The woman does not make a sound as she continues her approach, glancing over the water as she slowly comes to a stop somewhere off to the side.

 He scents Ajatar before he sees her approach, though he does not make a move to greet her. Instead, the titan watches with idle eyes as she draws closer. He notes the Fos Goufa does not make a sound toward him even as she draws closer, and so he too remains silent. 

 Being the first to start a conversation has always made the Rauna feel awkward. Silence is a comfortable state for him, and so he lifts his head and turns toward the white woman, signalling he is aware of her presence - greeting even - but he does not move to speak, yet. For now he is content in their quiet.

Étoille acknowledges her presence and she quirks one brow with mild curiosity. Even though he is an outsider to these wolves, they share some similarities. It makes it easier to like him. While she does not consider herself an outsider, the majority of Drageda is unfamiliar to her from the terrain to the wolves that live here. Even Heda. In some ways, she and the brute are on the same level but the notion is not toyed with for long.

“What makes you stay?” she questions. How would she answers, without the chains of a title to bear?

For a moment he thinks they will simply sit in silence. Ajatar's question breaks it. He turns his head to look at her fully, blinking. "I chose here," Étoille says after a pause, unsure exactly what she means. He may be an outsider to Drageda's customs but he has things here - choupinou, his role as Rauna. It may not be a lot but it is all the titan needs to be satisfied. 

"Why," he asks, curious. Something about the question makes him doubt it was wholly for him, though he isn't the type to pry too deeply.

I chose here.

Ajatar narrows her eyes a little as he gives the worst answer because. Just because. They are not convincing words for an outsider to give someone whose flesh and blood is already here. His loyalties are flighty, at best, even if he’s earned his rank. How long before he chooses to go elsewhere, because he chose to? And what will he do with the Drageda he takes with him? One ear twitches upon her head but otherwise remains stiff and forward, even as he lazily asks why.

He does not make it easy to like him, but at the same time, there is no reason not to.

“I am curious to know what brings an outsider to stay,” she says after a beat, her voice flat. Other than the slight flick of her eyes there are no obvious signs of frustration with his answer.

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The beast notes her reaction and is puzzled. He had not been dishonest, but he cannot read her mind to comprehend what about his decision displeases her - and so he lets it go easily. The role of Fos Goufa is important, he understands that conceptually, but without the context of why he does not find himself bothered by her opinions. In truth, even with the context of why he would not be too bothered, so long as she allowed him to continue to do his work.

He is a simple man, after all. 

Her words directly address his status as an outsider. For a moment he wonders if she intends to offend with that, though he himself is still unbothered. "Mm," he says thoughtfully. "I have spent most of my life adrift, and have been contented with that," Étoille starts. He has never been the type to elaborate on his past, and yet, he feels he should this time. "I have also lost many chances at some genuine connection as a result. After a time, I began to realise the fruitlessness of this." Before Mirabelle, there had been Wolfgangliana. There had been Gnarled Oaks and the trickster Loki in the forest, and there had been the hopeful Tytonidae. All had offered something to him, and all had carelessly slipped through his paws. Not necessarily his fault every time - but his dedication to inaction had certainly cost him something.

 "Ajatar. I do not require much to be content," he explains, "but Drageda has given me something I did not know I needed: something larger than myself to dedicate to." He does not know if his words will be adequate, but he hopes it is something, that the withdrawn woman will see something of his inner workings.

She does not have to ask again, or clarify what she means, because Étoille further elaborates. It is not necessarily satisfying. It explains it well enough. Nothing swayed him to Drageda. Nothing about them pulled him in, in particular, but he has chosen them more than they’ve chosen him. He goes quiet for a moment and she nods her head once, but does not look away. After a moment, he says her name in a way that causes her head to retreat a little and her ears flicker on her head. He solidifies his loyalty, in his own way, and so she accepts what he has told her. It is better than most wolves she talks to that have belonged to the outside world before their conversion.

After a moment, she makes a sound of suspicious content and nods again. All right.

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He is pleased that she seems to accept his explanation. There is, he suspects, no real recourse for his position as an outsider, for someone raised within the culture. But he does not require complete acceptance from Drageda, so long as they seem to trust him. Silence descends on the pair, though the Rauna is unsure if it's a completely comfortable silence.

After a few beats, he clears his throat. "I am interested in Drageda's culture," the titan says, and leaves it at that. Perhaps she will take him up on the unspoken question - perhaps not.

Even if he offers his reassurances that he wants to know about their way of life, Ajatar isn’t easily swayed. She believes him enough that he is content here in Drageda. He has a roof over his head, so to speak, and a place to serve, but he does not know much about their ways. In a lot of aspects of their daily life, they do not differ from any other pack. They rely heavily on all the wolves pull their weight and doing their part. They are all warriors, in one way or another, but they delve deeper into their roots. Seageda had been their point of origin for a long time and it should have gone to Trigeda after its demise but instead, further away.

“I would be happy to teach you,” she tells him though her words are flat and indifferent. Perhaps she would. Maybe she wouldn’t. She doesn’t linger long on this thought. Étoille is making the effort. “Do you know who I am here?” she asks a beat later, ears cupped forward in anticipation to find out where she really needs to start.

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The contrast between Ajatar's words and tone throw even him off for a moment, and he can't help but laugh (a deep, rumbling sound, short and not-at-all laughter-like). It is an offer and he will take it. "I have heard your title," he says to answer her, "Fos Goufa, but I do not know what it means." Something important, he has surmised, but if there are deeper cultural implications, the titan is unaware.

“I will be the next Heda when she dies, assuming another is not born,” she explains, studying his stoic features for a brief pause. That is the easiest way to put it, she supposes, but that tells them how they do things and not why and this is what Ajatar has studied, this is the whole purpose. “The commander’s spirit will find the next vessel and destroy those that are not suitable, and she will live on in the next wolf to hold the title. It has traveled over generations, since the beginning of our kind, to keep us prosperous,” she explains. It does not mean they go without hardships, for they are tests to the vessel to make the right decisions, but those mistakes are learned and taught over generations from one to the next. The same mistakes Thuringwethil makes—has made, is making—will not be repeated but she can’t do anything about it but trust the good comes out of it and the commanders are guiding her through this.

It takes a pause to continue, deciding where to lead into without losing him too much. It takes time to learn, time to grow faith, but she hopes he’ll see it as they do, too. “I have been training since I was born, basically. One has to be born the only child of the litter, someone whole, to withstand the spirit,” she adds, licking her lips. There had been one wolf to meet an unfortunate fate but that is for another time. One her flicks back, but they reunite and cup forward. “We have a very strict upbringing. We do not even know our families, nor…” she pauses, realizing the territory she just stepped in, “are we supposed to have them.”

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 For a moment Étoille does not expect Ajatar to actually tell him anything. But she begins to speak and he takes a seat, his surprise not reaching his face as he intently listens. It is easy enough to understand - Fos Goufa is the next in the line of succession. 

The commander's spirit, Ajatar says, and this time the surprise does touch his eyes but faintly. He had not expected a spiritual component to Drageda's ways, given how practical much of its structure is. This sort of thing.. well, it goes over his head, a bit. Not that he finds it distasteful or discounts it, but he does not necessarily believe it, either. He supposes he doesn't have to in order to respect the position -- all that matters is that he understands the weight of its importance.

Ajatar's conclusion immediately brings Heda's family to mind. It's funny to imagine the serious Heda as some sort of rebellious spirit (no pun intended). He is not empathetic enough to feel the gravity of the revelation - from what he's seen, Heda has a fine handle on things and her children are capable warriors themselves. "I see," he says, finally. "That ... sounds difficult." Or rather, he can see how it could sound difficult (though the Rauna himself would probably have done well in a similar position - not as a warrior, but content enough to forsake family.)

There are not many times she’s had to explain the information to an outsider. There is usually someone else. Often times, she’s been on the other ending learning their ways in detail that sometimes the others don’t unless they are historians. She needs the information to lead one day and she has much more time to prepare than Thuringwethil had. She’d ascended young, the youngest to win Sadgeda in fact, and she has already well surpassed that, her second year coming up in a few months. But she is here to learn from Thuringwethil before the day comes, whether it is sooner or later.

“It is what and how we are taught very young,” she explains. Ajatar knows no family, she’d been told from an early age she does not have one—she knows she didn’t simply appear out of thin air—but there is no connection, no suspicion, no… desire to know them. It will likely complicate things and in Drageda, she knows she doesn’t have a chance of discovering them. This branch beneath Heda is wholly unexplored. “But I suppose the absence of those things might make one crave it,” she adds though she does not think she fall in that territory. She does not even have any competition for Heda—with Seregrýn’s fall from grace—and never had anyone to learn with on her level. She hums quietly at the thought, as if she were to entertain the idea, but it is short lived.

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Étoille nods easily at Ajatar's statement. He tries to imagine what it would be like if he'd never known his maman, at the least. He'd not had siblings, that he knew about, nor does he remember the presence of a father figure in any significant way. Still, his childhood had been relatively easy. He supposes he would not know any of his maman's tongue, an odd thought. That disquiets him more than anything. But, he supposes, if he had never known, he wouldn't know what to miss at all.

"I see," he says, thinking of Heda but not wanting to name her aloud. It is not his business - and after all, he does not know the whole story, though now he is curious to. Looking at Ajatar, he does not think she is the type to follow in Heda's footsteps. In that regard, anyway. "How long has your culture existed," Étoille asks as a follow up, curious in face. He knows now of the other branches and that, obviously, this.. spirit has existed far longer than Heda or Ajatar, but he wonders how far back their history must stretch.

She can’t read Étoille’s expression or what he thinks. He hasn’t objected to anything or criticized thus far. Instead, he’s asked a few questions and it’s at least a start. It is not often she’s had a conversation. Outsiders in the north knew of them, for the most part, but they’d so far south it would have taken Thuringwethil a long time for the neighboring packs to be aware of them. And what she’s seen, there aren’t many neighboring packs (if any) close enough to matter. 

“A long time. Some families are able to tell their history back at least eight generations, but it doesn’t stop there,” she explains. All their history is by mouth now, leading back to the first as significant wolf to keep them together. While her training includes the history of their culture, just as it does fighting, her studies have been more in depth than others and the holes she has to fill in she needs Drageda for, and the current Heda. “Heda has been around… a long time,” she says. It is not Thuringwethil that she means but the whole idol their lives revolve around, that they trust, and one day she will hold dear and understand finally what it’s like.

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Étoille cannot imagine the length of time that eight generations would fill, but it is sizeable. It is impressive. For a moment he thinks Ajatar means Heda, and tries to think how old she must be (surely not much older than him? Or at least he would not have guessed --) before realising she means the ... spirit of Heda, most likely, that she already referred to. "Who was the first Heda?" He asks, getting into the spirit of the story now. He does not know if the first Heda is the one that became their ... spirit or if that commander were someone else entirely. But it is interesting, and he has lived amongst them long enough that it makes sense for him to have a more indepth understanding of their history.

Étoille asks a loaded question that Ajatar expected at some point, whether this lesson or another, and she wonders just how long he continue to engage. There is more to their culture than Ajatar can ever teach him in a day but if he is in it for the long haul, she’ll continue to immerse him and hopefully see him as the same as does the others.

“Her name was Jumala. Before Drageda was Drageda, it was Seageda, and it was several days travel north along the coast. She led the wolves there and for the first time, they saw their perseverance. Her spirit, and the spirit of all her successors, has traveled through their vessels,” she pauses, and licks her lips. “There is a lot of speculation about her, passed over the generations. Some of it conflicts and some of it… is grand, but we know she turned the roughest of wolves around and we have flourished since. It is not often spoken, but we know she has kept us safe through all these years.”

Over the time of her teachings, she has taken from the stories about Jumala and decided which ones hold the most truth but it is not until the spirit passes from Thuringwethil to herself that she’ll truly know for certain. She hopes, with Heda’s guidance, she’ll learn some of the cast knowledge before then.

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He listens intently, expression unreadable. It is intriguing in a way, that this figure is the center of their culture, that she is, in essence, a folkloric hero. It makes him think briefly of Liana, who he hasn't thought of in months. 

Étoille dips his head. "Thank you for sharing that story with me," he says, and offers the briefest of smiles. It looks odd on his normally inscrutable expression, but it is genuine. "I feel I understand a bit better now," he adds. He does not understand everything, of course, but he can learn. He has time.

Étoille doesn’t have any more questions after that and she nods when he offers thanks. Her eyes search the rest of his face when he smiles but she resettles when she doesn’t find anything else out of place. “Yu monin,” she offers with a slight dip of her crown. With nothing else left to offer, and her own curiosity satisfied, she dismisses herself and moves along.