Hushed Willows Greedfall.

Set before the BWP kicked off. Please allow @Opalia to post first, then open for anyone and tagging @Sunny 'cause we kinda need him.  :P

While his more minor wounds were well on the way to knitting together, scabbed over and shrinking significantly with each passing day, Dacio's travel had been unkind to the larger tears on his chest and hip. He did his best to mask the pain that burned in these areas with every stride, tried to favour his hind limb as little as he could to prevent his sister's worry, but he was concerned that infection might begin to ebb away at his flesh each time the marrings reopened.

Dacio had never shown any real interest in his mother's profession, but in these trying days he wished that he had. He and Opalia had been bred to be warriors, not healers, and so they carried on toward their destination quietly and carefully. Neither of them were in any real condition to cover much ground, but they also could not afford to waste any valuable time should Rusalka choose to follow them.

Thus, there was enormous relief when the sibling duo arrived at the entrance of Elysium's small part of the world, and the young Gona exhaled a breathy sigh. "Shall we?" Dacio suggested, then tilted his dark muzzle skyward to request an audience with the willows' leader.

After the ambush on Raleska that ultimately reunited them, the pair had laid low and begun the healing process hidden. But time spanned all too quickly, and they knew they must abandon their roost on the cliffsides before their trails got too obvious. Thankfully, they could set out with a real destination in mind, and Opalia knew roughly where to find the forest of willows tucked in the crook of the mountainside. She steered their course as delicately as she could.

By the time she could be sure her heading was correct, soreness was setting in again, especially on her side. She knew, if she was aching, Dacio was surely feeling his  too, and she tried not to dwell on it for his sake--or on either of their present situations, and remind herself that if the descriptions she had heard moons ago still held true, this might be a worthwhile stop for them all things considered. But, there was still a lot to find out.. and as they drew nearer, she found herself searching for hints of familiar scents--even if her last stay was only a night's visit. Maybe someone may even remember her..

Circumstance had been vastly different the last time she had approached this boundary. Her affirmation to her brother was a thoughtful silence first, a slow breath, then deepened by a nod before she joined in sending her voice up too to further help announce their presence. With that said, now something was in motion for the pair.

the call was not for her, and yet she'd seen little of Sunny that past while and so strode to the borders herself, wondering if perhaps she'd meet him there. the absence of the two dark girls, whose mother seemed absent, had not gone unnoticed, and though she worried for the young ones there was far too much to do here, and no chance of her setting out to search for them. 

she comes to stand before the pair a short while later, easy smile on her features. "welcome to elysium," she offers the pair, adding, "I am Thelxiope. can I help you?" 

His mind had been elsewhere the past few days, on his wandering daughter who somehow had grown so much without him even noticing. It seemed like only yesterday that she was calling him daddy, following him everywhere and hanging onto his every word. Now she was wandering the mountains alone...with his permission to do so. He didn't regret giving her the freedom, he knew from experience that she probably would have left anyway and at least this way she was more likely to come back home to him when she was tired of wandering yet he was scared, she was still just a child and she knew so little of the real dangers of the world. A call from the borders interrupted his worrying and he perked up, heading toward it grateful for the distraction.  He arrived to see Thel standing there, already handling it and he smiled at her gratefully before turning to the two strangers "I'm Sunny, I handle things around here" he introduced himself with a slow wag of his tail and waited to hear what they had come for though he suspected they had more members wishing to make the Willows their home.

A figure slipped from between the foliage, with fine features and a pelt of ghostly silver. She approached on nimble paws and welcomed them to her home. Dacio studied her smile quietly, finding it incredibly odd that his own kind would greet strangers so warmly despite the proximity to the territory that housed her pack.

He parted his dark jaws to speak, to offer introduction and intention, having never been a wolf to beat around the bush. Movement prevented his words, however, as another ashen figure appeared from among the willows to step up alongside his comrade. This one presented the young Drakru siblings with a name, tacking on that he was in charge, and Dacio pricked a charcoal ears curiously as he shifted to exchange a brief glance with his sister - to communicate his discomfort only with her.

"My name is Dacio and this," he let his mossy gaze linger on her features for a moment longer, "is my sister, Opalia." He lifted his stare then, turning his proud muzzle to face the sterling Sunny. "We seek a place to settle for the cold season, and can offer our protection in return. We were trained to fight since infancy, and would make suitable additions to your warrior ranks."

After they settled to wait, her sights trailed from the treetops, beyond, then back down again to finally see an approaching silvery wolf. Opalia's ears set forward readily, and so subtly, she curved her most-aching side closer to her brother. Though she had already known Elysium to seem like a peaceful lot, old habits, ingrained on her since birth, were not set aside easily--not when she knew both herself and her brother were feeling a little roughed up after their little instigation with Rusalka.

Then, before they could answer much, another grayscale wolf arrived and proclaimed himself as what she supposed meant one of their leaders. Not Lily, however--and neither did Opalia smell that particular familiar face around.

But now was no time to dwell on such, for she nodded simply alongside Dacio's introductions as he got right to the meat of it. She wasn't missing any of it, though, and stood by him absolutely to carefully watch the Elysium wolves' expressions--all while minding herself carefully neutral, stance guarded.. but respectable enough to not entirely forsake her confidence, even here and now at their need. Hopefully they would be interested in some experienced guardians. I visited once here with guarding a scout moons ago, and she was a friend of Lily's, she mentioned with a soft nod, hopefully keying them in to the fact that they were at least vaguely familiar with what the willows offered here.

the male introduces the both of them, and as she puts names the faces, the sea-witch marvels at the markings they possess; they are certainly not common. it is their words that demand most of her attention, however, and aloud she muses, "elysium could use more wolves of your skills. it is a sanctuary, too, and myself and the other healers here would be able to tend to your wounds." she does not mention aloud what both she and Sunny know; they need more bodies, desperately. the growing pups are slowly becoming self-sufficient, but not quickly enough in face of the coming winter. 

when the girl speaks, she glances to him. she will defer to his judgement on this, having offered her opinion yet lacking the amount of experience he has in a leadership role.

What Dacio did not know was that Sunny had grown up in a peaceful pack, a pack where a chance was given and anyone who sought to join their home would be expected to provide or leave. He was gentler than even most of the Morningsiders were and as such he was intent to let the peaceful wolves of Elysium continue to be so, he knew he would not be of much use to them if something were to happen. Even so he wanted to protect their home and make it so they were just sitting ducks for another bear or something even worse. When they mentioned they were trained mercenaries Sunny desperately wanted them to be a part of Elysium and even more he hoped perhaps Dacio would be nice enough to help him with the protection end of things in Elysium, teach him to be more proficient with offense when the situation calls for it. He nodded as Thelxiope told of their need for mercenaries, explaining they were a sanctuary "We take in those in need. We used to have more able bodied wolves that could help but...there was a bear. We lost much. Even more wolves left after. Those that remain are peaceful and do what they can, or are pups" a deeper explanation was something he hoped would make them seem less like a helpless, dying pack and one that had suffered many hard times. "Your skills would be highly appreciated and I hope you find Elysium a good enough home" he offered them a respectful nod and stepped back so they could come into the borders.

quick endcap from me to wrap it, thx!

Though stoic, she wondered if the bear had anything to do with Lily's absence, or what it was she could not place here that did not feel the same as before. Then again, she had been a younger wolf herself, and coming from a different point of view than the more seasoned, rogue Opalia now. But above it all, they were proud, strong Drakru and it appeared that Elysium had been dealt a share of bad luck. If they needed the protection, then fine; they had come to a good place then, because they needed some reprieve after all and she was eager to have a better purpose again.

So with that, they had their Elysium's favor. Though she kept her skepticism to herself, the thought of a peaceful rest certainly appealed more than she wanted to admit aloud. She glanced sidelong to Dacio and then nodded deeply to the leadership as they all began to wrap this up. Thank you, she replied for them both. She could find out more later, with her own thoughts to gather for now.