Dragoncrest Cliffs I'm a fool, love, for the burden

:) :) :)

The journey from Trigeda is long but not particularly arduous. This is pleasant as Étoille enjoys the walk, and somewhat difficult, as it gives him time to reflect on being apart from his family. They are fine without him, he knows, and his visit shall be short. He'd heard from messengers that Heda was returning to Drageda, that the war was over, and had spoken to Mirabelle about coming to visit -- mostly to tell her the news of their healthy children, and to check on Ephraim and Furi, hopefully. To her credit she had been fine with his plan (he thinks himself quite lucky to have her). 

At last the familiar cliffs come back into view. The borders smell active -- a good sign -- as he finds a comfortable spot to call for @Antumbra, oblivious to the drama brewing just beside their borders once more. He will remain for a week, two at longest, he thinks, but for now -- it is nice to be home.

o HAI

He hadn't had much time to relax with Blackhead and her cronies down in the sound, and he was starting to wonder whether it was even worth it. The cliffs were vast enough--it was nice to have the extra territory, but her numbers were growing. Fight-feverish as he always was, Vercingetorix knew that battles did not come without a cost. They risked losing it all in war, the cliffs included.

With a weary sigh, much unlike his usual self, he ripped himself from patrolling duty and attended to the stranger at the border, eyes cold. Yes? he asked, not unkind but certainly wary. The man had called for Heda herself. He looked vaguely familiar, though Verx couldn't pick him out of a lineup. He was relatively sure he hadn't seen this broad, handsome face before.

It is not Heda that heeds his call but a man who Étoille cannot place but feels, rather distinctly, he has met before. Not in Drageda but...somewhere. He looks somewhat displeased with Étoille's presence, though he pays that little mind -- he is here to visit his Heda and his children not-by-blood. 

"Bonjour," the titan says, "I am Étoille. I came from Trigeda to visit Heda." The mention of Trigeda comes nearly as an afterthought, and no further explanation accompanies it. Why repeat himself after all when he's going to tell Heda the more important news?

The foreign greeting, plus the mention of Trigeda, put it together for Vercingetorix. He burst into a large smile, nodding. Sha, right! Étoille--how could I have forgotten? I've forgotten more than one face, these days. He laughed ruefully, his nods turning into a dismayed shake of the head. He'd seen the pale warrior once or twice. Not bosom buddies or anything, but still.

Sorry, bro, Verx said. It's been crazy around here. There are wolves in. . .well, Heda will tell you about it when she comes around. He lifted his chin, peering around for @Antumbra. No doubt she was bogged down in something. Lots to get bogged down into these days, fuckin' strategical quagmire.

The call that is made is familiar but does not pull her attention from her monitoring the back of the cavern. A guard is always at the point of escape for their current captive but she has her own curiosities in the wake of their new (and old) neighbors. She does not know everyone that lives there—she did not last time—but she only imagines it is the same. Wolves that took her own hostage, threatened their livelihood. Wolves that should never be there in the first place.

Eventually, she exchanges a few words with Helix before she turns and leaves Hougeda, making her way to the borders. It does not surprise her that Vercingetorix has arrived first to vet the situation and his relaxation gives her the same feel but when she sees the brute her speed picks up.

Antumbra has always shown a fondness for Étoille, as if he’d been Drageda-born all along and simply misplaced before.

“Brother,” she calls fondly and steps closer. She gives a glance toward her guard that he does not have to stay if he does not want to but she does not linger. “Are you here to stay?”

The man recognizes him when he speaks, but Étoille does not return the favor (it only took him nearly a year to learn Thuringwethil's name after all), offering only a small smile. He is interested in the news he hints at, but does not divulge -- there is no time to dwell on it anyway, as Heda arrives. A wider smile warms his mouth, only slightly more expressive than his usual blank stare, his tail wagging slowly. "Oui," he confirms, "only a short while. I come bearing news," he explains, "Mirabelle has given birth. They're all healthy." The barest flush of pride colors his voice, though he offers no more details than that, as is his way. 

That is not all now. Glancing at.. the other man who greeted him first, Étoille says, "it has been, ah, crazy here?" He borrows the man's word for lack of a better one, though coming from him it sounds slightly absurd. But he wants to hear of Heda's news and Drageda's happenings while he is here, of course.

Antumbra's warm greeting took him slightly aback, but he gave a smile of congratulations at the news of the pups. He couldn't remember Mirabelle, either. Goddamn, was he really losing his mind over here? He made a face at the way Étoille mirrored his earlier word, shooting a glance at Heda before stepping back, taking his place in the near distance.

In the ludicrous event that this guy ended up being a threat, he'd be ready to step in. For now, he was just here to listen.

you can skip over me until/unless directly mentioned!

He answers her question and it is not exactly the one she wants to hear. If asked, or perhaps ordered, he may stay, but who is she to keep him from his new responsibility? Especially when he has taken this time to come away and visit her, to deliver the news face to face. He could have sent someone else for this but she is glad he didn’t. With a gesture, she urges him to follow and a second to dismiss Vercingetorix since they’re headed further into the safety of the territory.

”I am happy for you. I hope to meet them soon,” she says, hoping to hint he should return home for good. One does not expect so much in a short amount of time but an entire world exists outside of them they have little control over. Étoille has a new life and other family outside of Drageda and though he is one of them, he’ll leave sooner or later, but she will hold on that he’ll settle, finally, at home.

”Much has happened,” she tells him, falling in step with him. She walks with no real purpose but only to keep moving as she tells him about their returning neighbors and the changes in Drageda, the swell of their numbers and return of Furi (she vaguely remembers they had been close), before she finally tells him Wildfire has left with their daughters.

fadin' this one out unless you wanna add anything~

 Part of him does long to stay, truthfully. He is fond of Heda. He is fond of the cliffs. But he does not want to miss his pups' childhood nor force Mirabelle to raise their children alone. (Would she want to come back with him someday, he wonders? At first he was not sure how she would fare amongst the wolves of the other 'gedas but she seems to have adapted well -- perhaps when the children are older?)

"I will bring them one day," he promises, falling into step with her to listen to her news. Little of it bodes well; the news of Wildfire in particular causes his brow to crease, feeling a wave of sympathy for her remaining children -- his remaining sons. Though he knows Drageda does not take kindly to deserters he is less concerned with the idea of natrona so much as he finds the act distateful for hurting Heda and her children. Wildfire, he decides, is a foolish woman. 

Once he's been caught up he tells Heda a little of his children, their names, how things are in Trigeda. It is nice to spend time with Thuringwethil (will he ever learn her new name? it seems unlikely). Satisfied to be on the same page for the time being, the titan takes his departure, happy to enjoy his vacation, so to speak, in his homeland.