Hushed Willows unruhestifter

for @Lumiya, but AW to SC. please let @Wylla post first :D

up from the pinewood where he had found his herbs, mahler had caught scent of a packline along a ridge leading back into the northwestern portion of the mountain range. though hesitant, he returned with word to wylla, along with his feeling that sagtannet in its vulnerability be appraised of who was near.
since the meadow he had not scented another pack; surely they were there, along with those who might mean them harm. but thus far, they had kept their peace. and so the charcoal guardian and the pretty ironstar followed the pathways into a spread of grasses not far from well-marked willows. he recalled this place; he had been asked here as midwife. what sort of wolves had claimed the sanctified and ethereal place? a glance exchanged; then the gargoyle tilt back his head, and called into the misted air for an audience.

Wylla kept her reservations to herself as they made their way back toward the mountains and the draping willows beyond the ridge. Mahler was right, of course. They couldn't afford to be blind to the possible threats around them, not after they'd failed to notice the Saints moving in until it was too late. They'd moved Diaspora higher into the mountains when two packs merged into one, and less than a year later, they'd departed again. Wylla wasn't keen for a third time.

But she couldn't help feeling like alerting other packs to their presence was also a mistake. Grimnismal had done fine without sharing its existence with the world. Diaspora, too, and Sagtannet was doing fine up until the Saints moved in. There was a benefit to establishing peaceful relations with nearby groups, sure, but she couldn't help feeling unsure of it all. It wasn't always that simple.

Wisely, she held her tongue and chose to simply enjoy the walk with a man she'd felt uneasy with for far too long. No sense ruining the mood again; there'd be plenty of time for that later, as seemed to be their perpetual cycle. Instead, she swept her muzzle in a wide arc, examining the long, low-hanging boughs of the trees from their healthy distance. Weird place, she remarked. She wasn't sure she'd like walking through curtains of foliage all the time, personally.

Not much was going on with Lumiya - yet. She was enjoying a well-earned rest after a seemingly endless hunt for a pile of hares. It had taken her most of the day, and she knew she still had border work to do before she could sleep peacefully, but she was simply too tired right now. When the call for an audience came, she hesitated for just a moment before she stood - muscles aching. She could've expected this. Her body really wasn't all that durable, and she overextended herself to often.

In a slow trot did she approach the border, pushing through curtains of willow branches until the pair was in sight. With a smile and a curtsy did she greet them, adding a soft; Greetings. As she usually did. Nothing was out of the ordinary - the two smelled not of the Saints. In fact, they wore a scent unfamiliar to her. I'm Lumiya - queen of the faes. How may I help you? It was almost routine now that she'd greeted strangers on their borders so often.

stigmata had insisted that they need no allies to hold the sunspire, and mahler had believed it. for a long time it rang true, that and other tenets held by his kill-brother. until he had died, and they had been forced to the hollow. and then sagtannet had been formed from the remnants of two —
mahler let out his breath, chiding himself for becoming nostalgic in his old age. a new chapter dawned before them, and such a move demanded updated tactics. wylla was quiet upon the way, remarking once upon the look of the place. he had come here once for a gathering; it was too veiled for his liking, but had suited the inhabitants well.
a figure was approaching, a young woman who greeted the observant pair with a genteel air and a soft voice. "hello," the gargoyle greeted in return, straightening alongside wylla. queen of the faes? he had not heard such a title before. "ve are from sagtannet, and i believe ve vill be settling avay, a day or so." 
dark ears twitched. "i am mahler," he added lightly, giving his heartsong with her silent stare room to introduce herself without the weight of his heavy accent. he was learning, after all.

To say that the wolf who approached them was quite unusual was an understatement. Wylla supposed she matched her ethereal home with her sweeps of charcoal and white, with a face mask that might've reminded her a little of her own if she was self aware enough to realize it. Heterochromia wasn't a common feature in Wylla's life, either, so her gaze was drawn automatically to the mismatched white and lilac of Lumiya's. She averted her eyes respectfully, fully intending to play the part of polite guest for the first time... well, ever.

Then she practically choked when the woman introduced herself.

Queen of the gays? What the hell kind of title was that?! Unaware that she'd misheard Lumiya, Wylla took a second to swallow and compose herself so she didn't burst out laughing. Thank god Mahler was such a diplomat. If she'd come alone, she'd blow the whole operation in seconds. If she had heard correctly, she wouldn't be any less amused. Wylla, she said through a grin she couldn't hide. She hoped it would come off more like a warm smile and less like an effort to keep herself from blurting out the first crass thing that came to mind. Which, of course, pertained to how many "gays" Lumiya commanded and what they did in their free time.

✹☾❂

 

On the days that she stayed in the willow grove, which numbered many — and somehow, at the same time, far too few — she was never too far from the forest’s edge. She could always be found stalking, sinking around in the rain, edging around the corners of the forest, ensuring that there were no rogue wanderers that needed to be dealt with. Not that she, herself could deal with such things as Orlaith would, but she could certainly be the one who brought in the muscle with a single howl. The rain messed everything up, though; muddying up her senses, making this job extraordinarily hard.

So it was a good thing Mahler had called for Lumiya, and that Eleuthera heard it, and knew this was her chance to do another good faerie thing.

The lilac woman padded up to the in-progress exchange, her heart light and happy — the last call at the border had been from her long-long brother, whom Mahler himself had cared for as a midwife more than a year ago. Eleuthera was excited to see what the universe held in store for her, as it was being particularly thrilling these days. She was not disappointed. Two wolves — one familiar, one not. They smelled of the spire, even though they were far from it. Eleuthera caught the tail end of the conversation. The pack was moving?

Eleuthera danced up alongside Lumiya, dipping her maw in respect for the leadership she was in the presence of. Three wolves, each of black and white, each leader a pack. Eleuthera wasn’t certain that Wylla would remember who she was, but the Hermes woman gave her a smile and a flick of the ears all the same. “Queen,” she greeted, somewhat inviting herself into the conversation. But Eleuthera felt it was warranted. They had denied the potential of becoming allies before, but now they were becoming their neighbors? Seelie Court didn’t need more trouble on its doorstep. “You all have come far," she noted.

She listened with full interest as always, excited at  the possibility of new neighbors. If they were friendly enough to come visit, and with the man acting professional and kind, she believed they'd make wonderful wolves to live near. She knew not what to think of his lady friend, Wylla - she was rather quiet and acting just a tad odd - nothing to become suspicious of, but the girl was nothing but observant. Without much muscle to back up her existence, she'd had to rely on her observation, intuition and her wits all of her life. If she knew it was as silly as the word fae sounding a bit like gay, she'd probably chuckle too.

Before she could begin the real conversation, Eleuthera joined her and spoke as if she'd already met these wolves. The queen was a bit surprised at this, but she had made mention of another pack less interested in their cause to strike evil down before it had the chance to spread... Could this Sagtannet be that pack? Were they moving because of the Saints being near?

Eleuthera, how nice of you to join us. She greeted with a dip of her muzzle, then she turned to Sagtannet pair. It's a pleasure meeting you both. She started. Excuse me for asking, but was your move caused by something specific? A less than friendly pack moving nearby, for example? She asked - with much weighing on her mind, the petite fae had no time for chit-chat and small-talk. They'd had their short pleasantries and introductions, now she wanted to know more.

unaware of the thoughts amusing his — how was he to refer to her within his head, now? they were not formal, though their affections went beyond that, he suspected. and she had spurned his legal contract, and so mahler had grown reticent about it, not daring to call her by a spousal title—
a second wolf joined the trio. she was a beautiful girl with tulip-grey pelting and a pointed tone. though initially appreciative, mahler frowned inwardly to hear how this faery queen now addressed them both. but he had not waited to hear the details of what his co-leader had heard from the seelie emissary; they had called sagtannet together and departed soon thereafter.
feeling as though he had missed something beneath the sudden knowingness of lumiya, the gargoyle turned his attentions back to her. "yes. i am told yours vas the pack who first informed ours of this scavenging band." tone cool, body remaining as it was, respectful of the fae court, but observant, anticipating.

Her imagination could've danced off to fantastical places on the thread of how many gays Lumiya had in her arsenal, and if the whole pack's purpose was comparing body parts. What else did gays do in their spare time? Obsessed with genitals, every one of them. At least, that was Wylla's expectation. She was rather homophobic, although she'd never had any reason to reveal it, and assumed it was some kind of obsessive sex disease to want to share bodies with one's own sex. Imagine ruling an entire pack of 'em!

Alas, Eleuthera's arrival put to rest all of Wylla's misunderstanding. Ah. This was Seelie Court. That explained a lot. Wylla was left to wonder what Lumiya actually said, but while the cryptic queen made mention of the very reason behind their departure from the mountains, her eyes remained on the lilac-grey woman who had visited Sagtannet. She considered Eleuthera a particularly selfless wolf, and her opinion of this pack could only rise with the woman's presence.

Like Mahler, she didn't like how much Lumiya seemed to know, but it made a lot more sense with Eleuthera there. A change of scenery seemed more worth the trouble than waiting to see what some unruly canyon dwellers would do, she said. She still believed they'd made the right choice. Fighting could only invite more fighting, more trouble. Leaving before the fighting started? Seemed pretty wise to her.

✹☾❂

 

Lumiya was radiant, as always — even the pinstriped female Wylla seemed a touch warmer than their prior encounter — but it did not go unnoticed that the elder brute by her side remained reticent. Eleuthera continued to beam her customary blithe grin, particularly happy that her wanton warning to the wayward pack had paid off, and their souls were saved from the jaws of the heathens. “We welcome you to the coast,” she commented, punctuating her sentence with a wag of the tail. “You’ll find far better suited neighbors in these parts.” Eleuthera looked towards her queen, her pale eyes meeting Lumiya’s bicolored, wondering if this previous dead end might become an alliance, anew.