Broken Antler Fen Farewell neverland

A tag for @Teya and @Eljay maybe. Anyone is welcome, though!

The edge of the fen was just beyond them. Sunlight had only barely begun to sparkle from over the mountains and dapple the land in warm glimmering rays.

Crowfeather kept a brisk pace, still mulling over the churning of his emotions from the night before. He felt he had dishonored Germanicus in a way that he wasn’t sure he could fix. The emotions that he had believed would fade had only strengthened in his time with the soldier.

I think we should call here, @Germanicus just a short distance from their border marking, he said softly, searching to set his eyes on the older man.

germanicus kept pace with crowfeather. he had tried to keep the night's events from his mind. yet in all the moments since, he had remembered the shadow beneath him, and germanicus on the very verge of breaking.

brecheliant was a wet place, with squelching mud and waterbirds arching above bent willow trees. it was ugly to the former centurion, and so his curiosity was sharpened.

without a word, the man tilted back his crown and called for this swamp's leadership.

teya was dizzy and glowing and spun into a flagship of embers.
when the masculine call rose commandingly over the wood, the raven responded with a delighted air.
she wanted to show the sheen of herself to others, the proclamation that she had been wanted.
a dark boy standing alongside an ashen man. her eyes lingered upon the latter, flicking surreptitiously over the strength in his pillared legs.
"i teya." a rampant smile while she turned her attention toward the boy. he was pretty in the way that sundance had been, she thought. "this brecheliant."
the delicate auds swept forward, and she looked between them both expectantly.

Germanicus said nothing but drew his head back and called to the leaders of the pack. His rich baritone filled the air around the dark wolf, and he felt his skin prickle with goosebumps. The dark ears atop his head swiveled.

When a woman approached, Crowfeather bowed awkwardly to her. She spoke simply, straight-forward. The woman declared that she was Teya and that they had arrived at Brecheliant.

I am Crowfeather and this is Germanicus, the dark seer commented warily, gesturing to the silver guard when he spoke his name. We are travelers who stopped to see your allies, the Redhawk Caldera pack. We had offered aid to them in any way that we could and they said we could travel here to fulfill any need that you might have.

Crowfeather tried to sound confident like Germanicus, but he felt he sounded more fearful than anything. There was a nervous wag of his tail to the woman.

the wolf that came to greet them was young and glowing with a good humour. germanicus amused himself by observing how crowfeather reacted.  

but it seemed that today words stirred in the shadow. the eagle listened, pride auraeing his head.

germanicus remained silent, his eyes trained in peace upon the brecheliant leader.

teya's distractedness was brought to forefront by the formality of the boy's words. she had been expecting the man to speak, and found herself welling with interest in the darker of the pair.
a wry smile tugged at her mouth.
"did woman named ruenna send you?" for she felt it was the sort of gesture the other might make. she had even offered herbs directly from their land the first time!
"we need large kill," she told them directly. "enough for many days." they had volunteered, and all of her shyness had been quite lately singed away.

Teya spoke of Ruenna and Crowfeather’s ears cupped with interest, nodding his head intently. There was a moment of relief in the knowledge that the woman from Redhawk Caldera had communicated their arrival to the ally pack.

The leader Teya then stated that their claim needed large prey, enough to last for several days. Crowfeather felt worry eat away at his insides. Germanicus had not instructed him on how to speak if the pack had offered a task. The dark figure grew hot with uncertainty.

Then he remembered the boar that had injured Germanicus in the wood to the north.

We encountered boar, in a forest a couple of days journey to the north. There may be deer or elk closer to your claim. Crowfeather pointed his snout to the forest from where they had traveled that morning.

germanicus was pleased to receive such a direct entreaty. as before, he was silent, allowing crowfeather to step through this meeting.

inwardly, he admired the boy's calm. how far he had come in some days.

he kept the thoughts of that most recent moment at bay, and turned his attention to the woman, wondering what she might choose for their quarry. it would keep them around the fen for a day or so at least, if their tracking was not successful before the sun began to burn.

she thought of reyes and of bridget, of how they both glowed in shades of red.
the girl felt an unexpected suspicion overcome her, and this narrowed her focus as she listened to the boy. he was handsome in a pointed way, cute in the angle of his nose.
not boar! the raven thought sharply of kynareth. "elk. i fast. but not made for that. i still help," she offered, enjoying the quick and friendly nature of the oddly formal pair. she wondered why the man had not spoken.

The woman looked between them carefully. She was a peculiar wolf, Crowfeather thought, but not at all unpleasant. Her nature seemed cheery enough. It did a wolf well to hold their guard when faced with an unknown entity, anyway.

Germanicus had remained silent. The dark seer wondered if he was making notes in his mind, things to review later. Crowfeather hoped that he had spoken on their behalf as well as he could.

Elk… that did sound like a feast. The dark wolf’s ears drew toward Teya at her mention of hunting with them. We would like that very much, Crowfeather offered in return. Uncertainty still swelled within him like a frightening wave.

If you would like, we can scout the forest for signs of a herd and call to you when we have found a suitable elk to hunt. this offer was made only so that he could hold onto the thought of keeping Germanicus to himself. That selfish little hope that he kept tucked in his heart.

germanicus felt that their meeting here was coming to a swift close. crowfeather had not yet mentioned the cat that roamed this area, or once had.

but he was quiet. scouting the forest would lend itself to a patrol for the foul beast. brecheliant might still not be touched by it. a place of water was not one for a cat.

a toss of teya's tail signalled her agreement with the search. a goodly part of her would have wanted to accompany them, but she knew now that her place was here.
"i be close," the little raven said assuringly, a small smile radiating through her somber mien. they would be close for some time, then. she would go and tell eljay.
teya glanced between the pair, her eyes resting upon the man.

Teya said she would remain close and Crowfeather nodded softly. He knew he was forgetting something they had needed to tell the pack. The dark wolf had attempted to race through the instruction that he had been given but could not stop thinking about the night before.

Oh… there was a cat scent that followed us from the mountains into the forest to- to the north. We did not sense it when we had moved around the lake, but if your hunters go up there, perhaps you should mention it, the dark figure shook softly at the memory.

We shall see you soon, Crowfeather gave her one last small bow before he turned to Germanicus and set a course back toward the wood.

there. germanicus felt now that crowfeather had covered all the missives there were to relay. with the saints having moved on, and the caldera well aware, it was best to leave the remainder of such politics for the allied groups.

the eagle bowed to teya before turning about-face and setting his stride to match that of his companion. "well done."

at this, the young raven's eyes cooled. another nod. "i tell eljay, our auspex." with the promise of hunting in the days to come, she watched the formal pair move off into the woodland.
teya supposed she might have asked more questions, but rolled her lithe shoulders in a shrug.
a patrol first and then —