Silverlight Terrace her collars of the moonshine's watery beams

for @Amekaze -- old gals gotta stick together, right? :)

She is growing a little more confident as the pups age, a little more sure that they will come out of this not only fine, but thriving. Still, she undertakes a small trek to the weald, eager to see if the place is still unoccupied or if rabble have set up camp there. It is not so far, but she takes it slowly; any faster pace and she will exhaust herself, and that won't do at all.

Tonight, Megara finds herself on a moon-blanketed expanse, a dark blotch amid the silver. The bulk of the Moonspear is to the south, and she gazes toward the mountain, lips drawing tight. She still has not yet had the opportunity to speak to Damien about an alliance between the two packs; too much has happened since her conversation there.

Would it do them any good, in any case? Suppose Moonspear holds some kind of grudge against the Melonii of Blackfeather Woods—surely that would extend to their branch of the family as well, yes? It is a delicate situation, fraught with unknowns. . .and their life is already so up in the air that adding another variable into the mix seems nothing short of reckless folly.

oooh yes! absolutely ;D

After splintering away from her hunts with her daughters, then a brief patrol that had kept her low on the slopes, she finally slid past the defenses and went beyond into the moonlit valleys for no reason other than herself. The tensions at home still ran high with all that had managed to trickle back, and to her, the damage had been done in the absences--some, more so than others. Now, in her efforts to keep her head above their tumult and keep her guards up accordingly all at once, she knew she must keep her balance best of all as she let them dig their graves--or come crawling back to her. For now, they had the choice still and she stood poised enough to wait them out.

Across the valley, however, she cut herself a straight path into the night, undaunted and on alert. It was this route that veered her towards another shadow, however unwittingly at first. Only once the winds shifted, subtle enough for only those who were listening, did she gain anything beyond a sliver of moonlight on a silhouette to draw her (investigative and in need of distraction) in to find out more. Even with that in mind, she did still intend to close in on her light, quiet trot.

The shadow smells of Moonspear. At first, Megara thinks it the young woman who had greeted her at the base of the mountain on her first visit, but upon further inspection, the differences make themselves clear. She is older, more seasoned, the various scars over her body gleaming silver, knifelike, in the moonlight.

She cuts a fearsome figure in the night, and Megara is more than intrigued.

Good evening, the rogue greets, her voice husky but pleasant enough. What brings you off your mountain tonight? Out for some stargazing. . .or soul-searching? Her indigo eyes rise to meet the woman's green, gimlet and questioning.

The greeting she gets pulls her ears forward, and towards her the curiosity shifts openly. Hail, she greets back with a short, concise tip to her snout. All the while, she's keened in, and interpreting whatever she had get, then looking for more even then. Soul-searching seemed to imply something more enlightening than what she was after. She only needed the energy spent elsewhere, not worrying about her wayward mate and what could possibly await at his return. Nothing quite so, she breathed, for maybe it was her loss this time, but she was out for all she needed right now and even the stars were not going to soothe her properly. She gently shook her head. Just scouting out a bit, enjoying the cover of the night, most of all.. she smirked gently, sensing that the fellow dark stranger may relate.

Really, though, Ame's intentions were unclear even to her. She just needed out, away, so she didn't have to dread what would come in the days or weeks to follow, or fight the urge to hunt down and maim. The anger she would need to redirect was not yet fully formed, anyway, so it just came easiest to distract from it for now--while she still could. Yours is not quite a familiar face I know, she said, though there was maybe something distantly recognizable about it all--and she did not remember them crossing paths before, not so directly as this. What brings you, too? she asked back to see.

Indeed. The night is good to women like them, so dark of pelt, especially when there is no snow upon the ground to give away their shadowy figures. Her ears flick briefly at the wording the other uses—'not quite'—and Megara wonders if this is not the first time she has seen a Melonii.

But which of them has she met, before?

Much the same as you, she responds, smiling. I'm a wanderer by nature; if I ever spend a day off the road, I may be dead. A small chuckle escapes her, at that, before the mirth over her face is replaced once more by curiosity. My name is Meldresi Melonii, she continues, continuing to use her sister's name—for whatever it's worth. This woman looks old enough to have perhaps known the priestess, so maybe. . .

I met some of your Moonspear wolves the other day, Megara adds. The big dark girl. . .she must be yours. She has much the look of you, in body and spirit.

A long time since I have heard that name, she nodded slowly and decided to leave it at that for now. The recollections were old, the finest details of it faded to time but once, at the tranquil lake, there had been another. Dark fur, indigo eyes--a becoming woman, enough to catch Ame's scrutinizing eye for the day. It had been long ago, and maybe roughly, she fit this bill.

Then after, over the ages, always had she heard tricklings of their kinds now and again, maybe a similar shimmer of a coat then and there. The name cropped up occasionally, too, but rarely did she find a great need to concern herself much with them and theirs.

As for her Moonspear lot, she flicked an interested ear. Hopefully they behaved themselves, with whatever business you had with them.. she replied, though with the hint of a wry grin for her definition of good behavior didn't align to every picture of it--but lately, she couldn't help it--not with one very important Moonspear wolf on a distracting tirade of misbehavior unmatched. But beyond that, of course she would claim one of her darkly-cloaked daughters without hesitation, though it hardly mattered which one. She did rightfully guess it was Hydra, the focal point of the trio most days after all, and Ame's chosen successor in a great many ways. Still, Ame did hope to peer a little more at length into what this stranger did know about her family, or her home. She is that telling? I am not surprised, All three were but then again, she had stamped many of her offspring in their individual own way. They were just the most blatant, perhaps.

Megara lets her muzzle split further in a pleased grin, glad to know that her sister's names—either of them—live on. But she is much more intrigued by the shadow woman who has descended from the mountain; who has spawned miniature versions of her fearsome self. She nods in response to the query, tail swinging gently behind her.

She is a credit to you, Megara croons, as all daughters should be. May other mothers be so lucky. I was quite impressed.

Perhaps they speak at length for a while longer or cut the conversation short, but they eventually drift away, two crones on the wind. Neither of them are long for this world—but if they know it, there is no indication in their strong step nor the proud set of their heads. Women from a different time, indeed.

Her expression shifts accordingly when daughters are held in the esteem they ought to be and with that, interest peaks further in this enigmatic stranger. Now she knows her nighttime rove has found company worth a second glimpse. Between the lines of Meldresi's words, for even as few as they might be, she can get a sense that it is not so different from her own beliefs--and perhaps they do go as deeply as such, in their own way. 

All too easily, and able to take the praise for her prized daughters, she can agree to that. It came naturally when she was blessed with the ones she had--looking at them, how could she not? A subtle smirk played onto her features then when she thought of them, all too valuable, to her first and foremost, and then of course the world second. 

With the companionship of someone perhaps as experienced as her (a rare find in these wilds indeed), it is just what she needed even without knowing, so she enjoys it while she can have it. Amekaze could take with her back a solace she had not had prior to stepping out into this eve, and maybe sharpening of her resolve too. Always in the back of it all, she knew what she must do. Now the questions were coming fewer and clarity rings, with her feeling honed in.