Moonspear 'cause they got powers and stuff

Another day had passed since her conversation with @Hydra. Leaving her cousin alone in the Glen — they'd slept there for the duration of the evening — Ying sought out a small hare and made way for the Moonspear border. She still hadn't made up her mind, but didn't want to leave the area without saying goodbye. A short call was sounded before she sat back on her haunches to wait for someone to approach.

Her aggression was fading and was morphing into something other, though it appeared she was not yet receptive enough to humor the advances of a lurking coyote. He came too near with ample interest, no doubt possessed by her changing scent—Hydra made quick work of him. One large paw splayed against its broad chest as she ate what was left of him, and having vented out the final vestiges of her vexations Hydra shook out her furs and stretched. 

The fire in her belly was warming. She paused for a moment to groom herself when the familiar call of Ying was heard. The matriarch was not far, and called to inform she had heard before she moved to meet her. 

It did not take long; soon enough, Ying was within her sights. Hydra's tail swayed at the sight of her; it was good to see her again, though Hydra had not expected her to return so soon. Emerging from The Netherwood so she too could be soon, Hydra descended from where she stood as only one who had navigated these lands for all their lifetime could. Her eyes fell to the rabbit Ying had brought, shifting back to the she-wolf who had come calling. Hydra would not yet assume this was for her, and she allowed Ying room to speak first.

Hi, Hydra. She knelt down and nudged the hare toward the border. I come to say goodbye, for now. Their journey was not complete. The plan was to visit Moonspear and return home, but Ying had decided to continue on a short scouting trip. She needed to find able-bodied soldiers and, if possible, gather intel on the Merrick and Astara Hydra had previously mentioned. She wouldn't be gone for too long. Leaving the island objectively defensiveless wasn't an option that Ying would consider. 

Bright blue eyes turned to face the icy gaze of her companion. If she did consent, they would become business partners; Ying was interested in learning more about the Queen. I will be here soon when I  am going back to home, then I give you an answer. She did a quick once-over and smiled, loosening her posture into something into something markedly less tense. Her ears fell into slight submission, so as to not overstep in her casual display. Can we talk more before? So we know who...we...are. Ying's snout scrunched up into a frown as she wondered where that sentence went wrong.

Hydra's gaze again turned to the hare once Ying moved it; Hydra moved to grab it and place it beside her, nodding in quiet and earnest thanks. That Ying had come to say goodbye prior to returning to the coast was a sentiment that Hydra did not miss—she wondered if she truly might find a friend in Ying. Alya would be proud to know she considered it. 

So, Ying would be returning to the Coast soon to get her answer... and then she would return, sooner rather than later. Hydra did enjoy the punctuality of it, thinking there was no time to lose were they to combine their efforts. The request to talk beforehand, to know one another better, was not one Hydra could say she anticipated. Nor one that she minded; Hydra did enjoy to talk about herself after all, though she rarely did so. Hydra could not be called humble, but nor could she be called boastful. She was simply a woman who was able to recognize, and acknowledge, their own power. What was the shame in that? 

We may, Hydra granted, reclining onto her haunches and observing Ying's mindfulness gratefully. Tell me who you are then, Ying, she offered, her low voice not devoid of some degree of warmth, with much interest; Ying had been given ample insight on who Hydra was through their previous interactions after all, and Hydra desired to know more of her companion. As for the phrasing, Hydra had no judgment to pass; if she could piece what was said together, that was all that mattered.

Oh. She had anticipated Hydra's response, but not that which was given. I am a hunter and a fighter, Ying explained, and, I tell you this: a protector. These were things that had already been discussed to some degree, but were generic enough to mention while searching for her next line. Ying wondered what Hydra might want to know with a pensive hum and toe tap. 

我姐姐的守护者. If there was a word for this, she did not know it. Mostly, I am this. Someone to watch my family. The entirety of her bloodline was under her guardianship, whether they knew this or not. Ying claimed all of them as her dependents in some way. Who do you call family? she asked, wondering if Hydra's definition was as broad as her own.

Hydra could guess at the former, given Ying's gifts—and she had deduced the latter. Then Ying lapsed into another language—one that struck Hydra as exceptionally familiar, and yet altogether different. Her mother had spoken to her often enough in her own mother-tongue that Hydra could understand, and even speak to a small degree, the words Amekaze said when telling stories. Her own instruction had been through listening and repeating, though the frequency of such conversations was not so much as for Hydra to be an expert in it by any means. 

She understood one word well enough that Ying had said, though—for it was used in a variety of her own mothers stories and made sense in context of Hydra's own question of who the other was—and with a slight tilt of her head, Hydra inquired: guardian? Ying had already called herself a protector, so it translated there too—but it seemed she was trying to say something else, add to it. Such a word was one Amekaze utilized frequently in stories of her own familial history. 

Who did Hydra call family? The Ostregas, she drawled, as well as those brought into our family through our unions, for those mated to them were family after all, fathers or mothers to future Ostregas... naturally, their children too... and Moonspear. I protect the Wilderness for them, she drawled. For their futures. For what would surely come to be. Hydra did not protect it alone; her family fought with her. All of those that she claimed. She considered @Valette family by proxy, a mother-in-law to her as well as Alya; the branches of her own family-tree were wide spread and sprawling. @Towhee too was her family; her sister-in-arms. Hydra considered the girl partially Ostrega for it, within her own mind, and so her definition included the warrior in it. 

Hydra shifted her weight and told of herself. I am a sister. I am a wife. I am a fighter, a protector, and I am a provider. I am a Queen. I am a mother, she drawled, not without some measure of pride in her voice; for in her lifetime, she had accomplished so much. Hydra knew that even for all of that, she had so much more to do. And she would do it—for her family. With them, there was nothing they could not do. Her children, each of them, were growing stronger by the day—she was many other things, too... but one thing she was not was boastful. She thought of her family as she looked to Ying; with the season upon them, it was not impossible to think she herself could be among those Hydra claimed as family. 

An Ostrega herself. 

Her ears pricked forward. Are you a mother? A wife? Came her questions, innocent in their delivery; Hydra had just revealed this about herself, after all. It was not farfetched for her to wonder if they had this in common with all else that they shared.

Kinda, she giggled. Approval was implied in Hydra's continuation of the conversation. Ying listened to each title the Moonspearian woman gave herself and nodded with deep understanding. Family meant more than blood; it helped to know that her companion felt the same. Settling into a seat, she listened to Hydra begin to speak about her closest relatives, those she had grown in her own womb.

She shifted uncomfortably. These were things that Ying hadn't seriously considered since her time with Aningan. He'd betrayed her, and at a time wherein she'd least expected it. Believing that all men were born with innate malintent, pretending that she was unaffected, it was easier than confronting her own hurt. She looked up at Hydra and smiled, but her gaze soon trailed back down toward the ground. 

I do not have these things, Ying explained, I maybe am not ready, because no one will give them to me. She wondered if there was something wrong with her, and if that was the reason men would not commit. She feared that she might be tainted, carrying the smell of trauma too pungent to ignore. Dwelling on these thoughts in front of company was inappropriate; Ying locked them neatly away for later.

She was interested in Hydra's interpretation of motherhood. How many were there, and how old? Ying wanted to ask these things but withheld, settling with: What is this like, to have kids? I think it is probably hard. She couldn't imagine being responsible for something so small, so helpless; a protector, but not yet a mother.

Not ready, as they would not be given? That was a foreign concept to the Ostrega; then again, Hydra was a woman who took what she wanted. Whatever it was she desired had no choice but to be ready when she was. Hydra had not missed the way Yings gaze found the earth in so downtrodden a way, but she had enough tact to know not to press, there; that was her own business.

Her notched ear flicked as she thought more on that; but Ying expressed no further interest in having these things herself... You would need a strong and stable mate to start, Hydra hummed knowingly, any male is ready, when your season arrives. But not every male will do, she informed. For some only stayed long enough to satisfy their desires, and left before they could see the life that was yielded from it. 

The question asked was one that brought Hydra deep into thought. How could she describe motherhood properly, and justify it for all that it was? When Hydra loved, she loved fiercely, terribly; Hydra felt it for her sisters, but her children had from Hydra a sort of love she did not know that she was capable of. 

It brought to light other, darker things within her. 

It is different. Different than I expected, Hydra admitted. For she had looked upon them when they were firstborn and had been vexed with how they kept her bedridden, and yet she was awed as she saw them grow and change. As that happened, her love for them became realized—but even before then, Hydra knew that if anything were to touch them, cause them to whimper or whine, she would rip them limb from limb until there was no way to determine what or who the other had been as she would brutalize them beyond recognition. Your life is their life. Their survival depends on you, and those around you, until they are able to learn to defend themselves. In those times, I felt time moved so slowly. There was famine this year; I would not permit any outsiders of the Wilderness, and those I allied with, to hunt where food could be found if it meant my children could be fed. Better it be them that starved to death than her own. And then suddenly they grow, and they grow so fast—and you look at what you have made, and who they are becoming. All that you have done for them to get so far, it is worth it to see this—and still, you would do more. You would do anything, she thought to herself. Being a mother was different than being a sister, even to her younger siblings who she had helped to rear; it was looking at a fragment of your reflection. Watching it become whole, but still seeing you and the one you loved so dearly as they came together. 

There is nothing like it, Hydra admits finally, licking her chops.

Every man is ready, but not every male will do.

Only a strong man. She nodded her head in acknowledgement and remembered the conversation with Kun. He'd assured her that the sea would someday bring a man. Ying didn't like that idea because she wanted her mate now, without having to depend on someone else's timing. However, she wasn't willing to accept the first available suitor. He needed to be strong-willed and able-bodied, two characteristics often absent in those she encountered.

Hydra continued with her explanation. The description of motherhood was congruent to Ying's assumptions, but the details came as a surprise. She imagined herself with children and was washed in a wave of both terror and angst. Would she ever be given the chance? Ying wanted to hope that she would, despite her current situation. You sound like a good mother. It would have been impossible for Hydra to feel such emotion, were she anything but devoted. 

She rolled her shoulders and breathed a short sigh. Smiling, Ying asked: How do you meet your mate? Ying enjoyed stories, but found particular interest in romance. The tales of others were often entertaining, if not something to learn from.

Hydra was glad to hear that Ying thought so, but the truth of it was, how could she know? She supposed that she already did in some ways; they had all grown so much, but besides that they were becoming who they were meant to be. They were able to make her feel proud, and that they did through their own hard work. Hydra still could not tell Ying whether or not she was a good, or a bad, mom. I do my best, she shared in turn. It was all she knew how to do, and what she would do for those that she loved. 

Ying brought her mate to mind with her inquiry; Hydra thought of him fondly. Winter was coming. I convinced him to follow me here, when I was but a yearling, she recalled. He did not intend to stay for long, and once Winter passed he was gone again. He asked me to join him, but my siblings had just been born—and the wolf who killed my once youngest sister still was alive, somewhere out there. I would not leave, she continued with a little grin. He had his own ambitions, which I respected—but he pursued me still, and kept close, for her, Hydra now knew. I suppose we were inevitable, he and I. For I drew him here again, and this time, he had remained with her. They, together, had raised four brilliant cubs. And she knew it was only a matter of time before there were more than that!

There were more questions to ask, but Ying kept her curiousity to herself. Hydra's story was interesting enough with the details already given. Had it been a forbidden love? The phrasing implied that he'd been made to leave by an outside force, something that would have liked to see them apart. Ying remembered this as she made a reminder to ask more about the topic at a later meeting.

The majority of conversation had pertained to Hydra. Ying didn't mind, but thought that she ought to also share. What was there to say?

In my first home, she explained, women are marrying young and having a family. This was the natural order of things, for a woman to abandon ambitions for her mate. Ying was unwilling to subscribe to this belief in its entirety; she had worked too long and for too much to simply leave everything behind. I want to do this but I am scared that no one I meet can do this with me. The men were either unable to meet her standards or unwilling to commit. Either way, Ying was always left without options.

She thought about Hua and Mei, and wondered if they'd been having similar thoughts. Did either sister plan to seed their wombs this season? Ying didn't know of any mated family members and doubted that this would have been the case if there was a new couple. I have things I do, like working. Men do not like that I am working a lot, or that I am very good at my work. There were some men who felt intimidated by her pride. Ying didn't mind; an insecure man was unfit to be a provider. I say to my cousin, Kun Kun, I will be a single woman forever, but I pray this will not happen.

Hydra listened to Ying, interested to hear of her culture, her way. Ying was young enough, but she supposed she meant as soon as one can. She wondered if Ying's own fear got in the way; Hydra found Dirge, but she had not realized she had even been looking. She felt certain Ying would find someone, too—

or that she might find someone for her.

The strange thought occurred to her again. It was but an idea, and yet, she wanted to see it brought to life. As Ying continued on, Hydra refrained from wrinkling her muzzle. There was a dark look to her countenance, though, that relayed her displeasure in the sort of men Ying spoke of. You are fortunate to still be so, if having a husband meant changing who you are, she drawled, as much as a consolation that Ying could get from a woman like Hydra. She was not one who was very good at making others feel better; matters of the heart, and soothing them, were not her forte. 

After a beat, Hydra drawled: How would you feel about someone... arranged for you? she inquired, ears cupping forward. Was she a woman like Kukutux, or did she frown at such a thought?

short, short post.

She thought about the question and nodded. Arrangements were practical solutions for singlehood, often times baring good fruit. Assuming Hydra would be the one responsible, Ying asked: Who? Most of what she required of a mate had already been shared, causing her to wonder if their conversation had been steered in this direction. A small smile grew on her maw as she stared back at the raven.

Oh, she hummed coyly, enjoying that Ying liked the idea of it being her who arranged it. I have no one in mind at present. Though, I can think on this, she drawled, if you would like. Hydra was curious if Ying would like for her to arrange it; the truth of it was, Hydra had not yet thought too much about it to think of anyone suitable for her in the first place. Arcturus had already expressed his unwillingness with the very idea, but more than that she would not ever see him Moonspear as she knew he would live, and die, on this space until the end of his days. Long ago she had inquired about his interest in expanding their claim beyond, and he refused the idea of it; his loyalty was to his family, and to this place. It would be an insult to even ask such of him, and Hydra would not dream of doing so. 

Jarilo and Kukutux seemed a quaint, good pair. He, too, did not wish to leave—and she would not ask that of him, and insult both he and Kukutux. That left, of breeding age, Revui; but she was not certain he would be up for the task. Perhaps, though, for Hydra... he might be. But what benefit would it be to the matriarch? Selfishly she wished for Revui here—or at least nearer to her. Certainly, within a close vicinity of this Wilderness. 

She supposed the first order of business, then, was to see if Ying and her family were willing to move closer. And if not, was Ying herself willing to start something new? Better, if Hydra dared think so herself (which, naturally, she did—given her nepotism and her bias both). Time, and then surely Ying, would tell.

Ying had been trying for months, since the incident, to find her own mate. With little success, her options were limited. Please. Kun's involvement would have been preferred — presently, he was her only male blood relative — but she was content to continue without him. Hydra seemed capable of making a suitable decision, and if Ying didn't like her choice, she was confident that she would be allowed to decline. Do you do this, too? Perhaps "matchmaker" was another of her titles.

The inquiry was met with a shake of her head. Not usually, no, Hydra admitted, though I have been asked to. Andraste had desired it of her, and Kukutux; Hydra humored Kukutux only for what she might offer in turn, but gave no promises. Ultimately, it was her brothers choice. She had told Ying she would think on it if she wished it, and it seemed Ying did. Few were worthy of her consideration, but Ying... there was something about the woman that Hydra wanted to cultivate. 

Alright, I shall, she determined. And think on it she would. It could hurt her not at all to do so, and her mind whirred with the possibilities. A tactical woman, there seemed to be many—she saw much advantage in it. But Hydra was not a woman of haste; she took her time with these things.

Standing to shake out her fur, Ying chirped her wordless thanks. This was not their final meeting, and surely not their last opportunity, so she was content to leave certain things undiscussed. She waited for Hydra's permission to exit, before turning and heading south toward the lake.

Hydra nodded to Ying to permit her departure, and again watched her head off until she was gone. The matriarch had much to think about, and moved to find her brother @Jarilo to discuss all that was on her mind once she detected his scent trail near. @Dirge, too, she would discuss this with; it was something she wished to explore from every angle she possibly could, and get his thoughts on the matter.