Firefly Glen and up above show the way

the very north of firefly glen, next to border of NWF. dated for 14th, @Atausiq let's see how things go!

Her conversation will Mal left her with some answers, alongside new questions. There were many issues to ponder, and still she had not even met with Hydra a second time. It was up next- but for now, she lingered at the border of Neverwinter, hugging the forest in her journey south, as if hoping Mal would come again to bless her with more advice. But it seemed some issues had to be solved on her own as well. 

A husband. The thought weighed heavy in her mind. If she grew round with children, how bad would it look if she was unmarried? Once a slave, always a slave- that's what her family would think. No- she would let herself be perceived as a dumpster for men. A husband would tidy her image again, change her from a single mother with unruly children into a happy family. Even if she did not want a man to love, still she desired a man in that way. A man to boost her status. 

And so she wondered, where she could find such a young man- someone so easily willing to uproot themselves and come to reside with her on the isle. It was no simple issue. As she thought, she would walk slowly into the beginnings of Firefly Glen, eyes slightly distant.

atausiq walks the borders, still unable to shake the effect that clover's scent had on him despite that they've had no contact prior to her joining. it was instinctual; a temptation he can fight only now because of his youth. still, he is not entirely absent of it. jaw clenches, tail swiping against his hocks like that of an agitated cat, movements stiff; purposeful as a soldier's would be.

try as he might to focus upon his patrol, atausiq's gaze and attention keeps wandering. at first, he nearly missed her. it was a movement; her elegant gait that caught his eye and forced him to pay attention. he might have yet to lay with a woman but coming in direct contact with a woman in her heat has awoken something in atausiq that refuses to be put back into its cage. he has become aware of the fairer sex in a way he never had been before.

with this guiding him, he remains within the borders of neverwinter forest but lets out a chuff to grab her attention all the same.

short sorry :(

The chuff knocked her out of her trance of thought, as she returned to the present world. She turns to eye him. He was a solid young man, one who resembled the man she'd met on the beach- the mountain who had called himself Greyback. Curiously she approaches slowly, chuffing in response while her tail wags lazily from side to side. 

She halts a few yards away, sure to keep distance- knowing he was certainly one of Mal's, and she had much less right to this land than he. She offers him a gentle smile, and her words- Hi, boy. You from Neverwinter Forest?

no worries! <3

his chuff appears to have achieved its intended purpose. he garners her attention — and as his imperial jade gaze studies her he resists the urge to preen as she approaches. she's pretty and as with clover, he feels that urge to want to impress. as it is, he pulls himself up to his full height, his own tail swaying amiably against his hocks only to sour slightly at her words. boy. b o y.

boy.

for a moment he falters, confidence nearly siphoned out of him; but breezily he brushes it off; an attempt to play cool. he was a misfit now, after all. my name is atausiq, he offers, a small smile lazily tugging at the edges of his lips. yeah. he responds to her question, though he thinks that he probably hadn't needed to. she seems familiar enough with the territory that he doesn't assume that she's lost. you have business around here? he asks, thinking that it sounds like something a guardian would ask; a fair question given her proximity to their pack borders.

As he pulls himself to full height, she feels small again in the same way she has many times before. He was large, especially so for his age- meanwhile Huā was a petite and lithe little thing. His slight falter does not go unnoticed- and as always, she wonders what she has done wrong. Her understanding of the language was only so developed, and so she knew that she sometimes made mistakes in tone. She could only hope she had not offended him too much. 

Thankfully, it seemed she hadn't. Quickly he returned to his casual friendly appearance, greeting her and answering her question in the way she'd expected. The question of business has her blush a little- because she totally can't say, I slept with your leader and had to work out some issues. Instead she grins a little, Just, dip- diplomatic thing with Mal. I leader of Yuèlóng, from beach. Your pack my pack are ally. Do you know of my pack? She wonders, unsure if Mal had told his people anything about them yet.

diplomatic things with mal.

fair and reason enough to be lurking outside their borders and he relaxes some; having no reason to believe she was lying to him. atausiq wasn't a suspicious beast by nature, just careful. he'd already been derailed by greyback exiling one of their own ...and in this, he cannot help but keep up a sort of neutral tendency for caution. at any rate, it made a good practice for someone who sought the mercenary trade and he saw no need to correct himself on the behavior.

yuèlóng, he repeats the names her pack; falling silent as she states that she is a leader and that they are allies before he can ask. thus, atausiq assumes that that was the nature of her business here. no, he hasn't mentioned it, atausiq admits and then adds quickly, not wanting her to think that mal didn't value their alliance ( because in truth, ata didn't know ) but i'm new here. i was only accepted a week ago or so. if that.

what's it like? he finds himself asking then, trying to imagine what a beach looks like and unable to picture it. your beach, i mean. he clarifies.

The boy tells her that Mal hasn't mentioned it- but clarifies that he's new, which provides her relief. Fair enough, then. Besides, she had not yet informed the people of the alliance either. Gathering all of them at once seemed a hassle since the first pack meeting, which had not gone as neatly as she had hoped. 

When he asks what home looks like, she's eager to share. Seaglass eyes turn glossy as she imagines it, The waves crash on shore always... the wind blow in fur... the sea shine so blue, beautiful... sand covered in treasure from sea- shell, plant, je-jellyfish. From hill in middle of island, you can see the whole world, touch sky, kiss stars. Some my people think smell bad, but me, I like the smell. The smell of sea and salt. She breathes, as if she could taste it now, despite all the distance in reality. 

If you ever curious about beach, since we ally... you can come visit. She suggests, a playful twinkle in her gaze.

she paints an elaborate portrait in his mind of what the beach looks like in his mind, with a far-away shine to her gaze, he notes. crashing waves, wing, shimmering sands and water. to kiss the stars ...he wonders what its like. you make it sound like a place you'd find in a fairytale, he tells her with a small laugh and a wistful sway of his tail. some place exciting and magical; a place that he feels his lackluster imagination that would pale should he ever get the chance to see it for himself.

oh, i'm definitely curious, he assures her. i'm afraid my imagination probably doesn't capture it. he grins and offers a sheepish roll of his broad shoulders. might have to take you up on it. he teases, flirtatiously — even if atausiq doesn't realize thats what he's doing — emboldened by the playful twinkle he notices in her gaze.

Her poetry reaches him- she can tell by the look in his eyes, the wonder in his words. She grins a toothy grin, satisfied with her ability to enchant him. Perhaps to draw him, she thinks, momentarily recalling the issues she'd been thinking about only minutes ago. 

Even if Atausiq doesn't realize his flirtation, Huā had spent enough time flirting with girls on the beach to catch the smooth boldness in his words. And though she's not particularly attracted to the boy at this moment, she can't help but fall right in line with the little game that has begun. I glad. I will eager to see you arrive... maybe at my island, we get know eachother better... She suggests, tail wagging slightly.

atausiq might not realize that he started the little game of flirtation that existed between them; superficial as it might've been ...but he's a fast learner and can recognize when something makes him feel emboldened. clover's scent. the lulling words of possibility and suggestive tone that the coastal woman offers stirs it. that newly awakened sense of prowess that atausiq doesn't fully understand. yeah, maybe... atausiq murmurs in aloof agreement; not wanting to appear too eager. too eager at the chance to see her again, too eager to see her wondrous home ...despite that he was eager.

a glimpse over a broad shoulder is given; into the yawning darkness of neverwinter's forest. in comparison to the imagery hua has woven into his mind of her home, the forest in contrast looks ...dismal. he draws in a soft breath, letting it push from his shoulders in a sigh as he turns his attention back to her. are you heading home now? he inquires, remembering that when he first came across her she'd been heading away from neverwinter forest.

He doesn't seem as eager as her, perhaps- or maybe he was holding back. But perhaps, Huā thinks, perhaps she had misinterpreted his game; did a boy this young know how to flirt? She could not be sure, and so she would hold off on anything further. And yet, she can't help but think his age was perfect for a new husband- barely a year old, with many years left in him for providing what was necessary for children, many years left to protect and serve as a figure, to serve as a father. 

At his question, she shakes her ebony head side to side. No- I have more diplomatic thing to do, at Moonspear. But after I go Moonspear, I return home. Maybe, I will see you on the way back? She wonders- knowing there wasn't really a way to guarantee such a thing, but still enjoying his company and hungry for more.

she corrects his assumption, telling him she has more diplomatic matters to attend. it makes sense, he supposes, though he really wouldn't know about that sort've stuff. despite being born to the alpha pair of easthollow he's spent a lot of time as an introvert and never really showing much interest in leadership despite his strong opinions of what a leader was supposed to do; but atausiq was selfish, as he's already admitted to leta.

admitting he had a problem was only one part of the equation. not willing to fix it was a whole issue in and of itself.

his attention is drawn from his wandering thoughts as she says about maybe seeing him on the way back. his tail gives a soft wag, a small lift of his chin at the consideration that she wants to see him again. yeah, he offers, allowing some of his eagerness to slip from the cracks of the cage he tries to hide it behind to look cool — not realizing it comes across as indifference. i'll be around. he promises, thinking that now he has something else to look forward to besides avoiding clover and the two women that took her under their wing and enjoyed making him the butt of their jokes.

One more once-over, and she was sure of it- this boy was related to the huge patriarch- Greyback, was it? Somehow. She could see it in his face, his size, his coloration- he bore a striking resemblance. And although the man had asked her to be on the lookout for a boy called Newt- not an Atausiq- some part of her wondered if this was the missing individual. Certainly she would meet with Greyback again soon if she could, to inquire whether she'd come across the son he'd been looking for. For now, however, she would not mention Greyback to the boy- if he were not related, it would surely be awkward. 

She's not bothered by his casual way of speaking anymore, deciding she had misjudged after all. Still, he was a nice boy, and one she would not mind seeing again- so she offers him a Bye, N- Atausiq. See you later. She nearly blurted the name that ran through her mind as a question, and lucky her, for catching it. Then with a wave of feathery tail in the air, she was off, headed towards Moonspear as planned.

atausiq offers her a sage nod of his head in farewell, tail swaying against his hocks; only to feel the tension shoot thru him like a bow string suddenly pulled taunt as starts out calling him something else, catches herself and then calls him 'atausiq'. he watches her go in a stunned silence, in a mixture of suspicion and a little bit of horror that he tries to convince himself is nothing. it was clear from her dialect that she was still getting used to speaking common, or at the very least that it wasn't her native tongue.

it'd been a mistake.

she hadn't been about to call him 'newt'.

he was just being paranoid.

despite the feeble attempts to convince himself as he turns back towards the heart of neverwinter forest, atausiq cannot entirely shake the icy feeling of dread that pools in the pit of his stomach.