Redhawk Caldera ustilo

per this thread, RHC has been warned of the saints, but germ said he'd come back himself so here he isss. set for the 1st

germanicus traveled from the fen to speak with @Ruenna among the redhawks. 

the pack had expanded since he had been away. the imperator took stock of the new scents. it was a grey and misted morning that had brought him to her doorstep, for a third time.

but his eyes turned to the mesa after he had called. he could not stop his thoughts from returning in shame to crowfeather. the eagle steeled himself and waited for the lady redfern to greet him when she was able. germanicus was patient.

Thank the stars Germanicus was patient, because Ruenna was not a swift wolf by any stretch of the imagination. Towhee had returned safely and seemed to be back to her old self, except for all the meditation and "yogurt"-- Rue couldn't believe she had lived to see the day that Towhee started practicing mindfulness. Truly, wonders never ceased. 

Ruenna had gratefully relinquished border-control duties back to Towhee. There were many ways that Ruenna had risen beautifully to the challenges presented by her new role as Sovereign, but maintaining the border and intercepting callers had been a real stretch for her. She simply didn't have the stamina and energy the task required, given how much of her strength was sapped by her chronic pain. 

However, Germanicus was a caller she was always happy to receive, no matter how harrowing her journey to the border. "Good morning, Germanicus," she greeted him with a smile, still limping forward to close the distance between them. "I'm glad to see you well. There are troubling rumors on the wind.." Her brow furrowed as she recalled the rather cryptic warning she had overheard several days ago, yelped out across the territory in the strange dialect of a coyote.

"good morning, lady ruenna."

if something had changed about the woman, perhaps she would mention it later in their talks. "you received akashingo's warning. it is true."

the man turned, gesturing toward the direction of the mesa. "pharaoh ramesses and lady satsu are former saints who wished to be free of nyra and kynareth, their leaders. nyra demanded entry and was refused. she struck. the pharaoh suffered light injuries, but one of akashingo lies in fevered sleep and may not live."

a pause, for he had spoken much.

"it is not a military outpost which rises in the plains. it is a brothel."

Mature Content Warning

This thread has been marked as mature. By reading and/or participating in this thread, you acknowledge that you are of age or have permission from your parents to do so.

The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: mentions of slavery and trafficking

Germanicus spoke of the rise of a new pack, Akashingo, which had cast off the shackles of fiefdom with some resistance from its former ruler. This made a great deal of sense to Ruenna, and it brought her some comfort to know that the coyote-called warning she'd overheard had comparatively little to do with the Caldera. The hate-triangle that consisted of Akashingo, the Saints, and Ursus was not of any major consequence that she could discern. 

"Do you know the nature of the arrangement between Akashingo and the coyotes?" It was not unheard of for wolves to reach out to coyotes with tasks to complete-- Ruenna had done so herself recently, in fact. But the description of the new pack as a "brothel" had given her pause. Brothels were not part of wolf culture, in her experience-- these sorts of establishments were almost always run exclusively by coyotes, even if they did receive the occasional, deviant wolf patron.

Truly, what concerned Ruenna was the possibility that the coyotes were enslaved. She had heard whispers of groups within the Teekons who held such practices. Ruenna agreed that coyotes were unsavory creatures; she even nursed her own small grudge due to the role they played in Blacktail Deer Plateau's downfall. But she certainly did not believe that it was permissible that they, or any other creature, might be enslaved and trafficked for the benefit and amusement of wolves.

germanicus had lately remembered his personal taste of ursus. it had been when he sought the vestal ico — near a lifetime ago.

ruenna posed a question for which the man did not have a direct answer. "i have only my observations. it seems that in exchange for the protection of wolves, the coyotes have agreed to entertain his guests. not all have stayed. there is one at the side of pharaoh, some being who seems to have his ear."

he studiously avoided any mention of maggie, or how he himself had been swayed and felled by a frustrating, sudden desire. 

she had asked for a reason. the eagle was silent, awaiting her explanation or lack thereof.

Ruenna nodded, taking in the information thoughtfully. Such an arrangement seemed unnatural to her, and she was particularly wary of this coyote who whispered in the ear of the pharaoh. As an advisor herself, she knew just how much power there could be in the role.

Germanicus had the air of a wolf who was waiting, patient yet expectant. 

"I.. am just gathering the facts, Germanicus," she explained, sighing wearily. "I worry that eventually, Redhawk Caldera will be forced to choose a side. I want to have as much information as possible when it comes time to make that decision." After a brief hesitation, she revealed some news of her own. 

"The Saints' leader stopped by last moon. Nyra. She said she was looking for her child, a boy named Alduin. She seemed quite single-minded about it.. she only stayed long enough to determine he wasn't here." Ruenna hadn't found much anything objectionable about the woman herself, though Rue was quite aware that Nyra was supposed to be some kind of villain in the eyes of greater Teekon. Honestly, Nyra seemed much more relatable than this unnatural pharaoh with his coyote consort. 

"If you don't mind my asking, Germanicus, where do your own sympathies lie?" Perhaps the information was not of consequence to the Caldera's overall decision, but Ruenna was curious all the same. The man had Ruenna's respect, and his viewpoint admittedly held some sway over her.

germanicus nodded in understanding. it was wearisome for both she and brecheliant, to be apprised of something so near but with no want to be involved. the man listened carefully to ruenna's revelation of nyra: that she was a mother and had shown a different side to herself at the caldera.

"with crowfeather," the man decided. "had i not seen the injuries nyra is able to inflict myself, i might have moved on already. she had pharaoh within her grasp but it is not her enemy who will die." he paused to collect his next words. "i do not want to go to war. it is not my battle. it is not my conflict. but it feels as though it is my responsibility to watch over the ones who gave me safe passage. you could say, lady ruenna, that my loyalty is to you as well."

germanicus did not speak again for a short while. when he parted his jaws again, he said: "you do not need to make a choice over akashingo yet. but you might be able to gather the facts with your own eyes. in spite of what has happened, the pharaoh and the queen intend to marry one another. they invite emissaries from both brecheliant and the caldera to join them for a feast at the close of this season. it is not the most opportune time for a celebration. but it is important to them that they be legitimized in the eyes of their neighbors. war or no war."

His sympathies were for Crowfeather. Ruenna nodded in understanding. Germanicus went on to speak in a bit of a riddling way about Nyra, and Ruenna's brow drew tight with concern. "Do you mean to tell me that Crowfeather is dying? And Nyra is responsible?" As much as she didn't want to find her own sympathies falling to one side or the other, she did want all of the facts. 

Germanicus added that he harbored some loyalty to Ruenna as well, and her initial reaction was to feel gratitude. A bit belatedly, she would wonder if he wasn't simply appealing to the vanity of a tender-footed leader, however in the moment she felt her heart swell with appreciation. 

"I'll go," she agreed, "Akashingo need only send word when it's time to gather." Perhaps she was feeling a little overly-sentimental after Germanicus's declaration of loyalty.. but if Germanicus thought that the Akashingo wolves were worthy associates, then Ruenna trusted his judgement.  

Besides, she had always loved a good party, especially one that drew together neighboring packs. But that was the ambassador in her, still alive and kicking despite her attempts to retire from scouting. She assumed that Towhee wouldn't see the point of it, but for the first time Ruenna was in a position to agree without needing the permission of the Sovereign.

he shook his head. "it is a woman named maggie, one of the pharaoh's followers. maggie was with him when nyra arrived and ramesses declared that akashingo was now independent of the saints. it was she who suffered the brunt of what followed." 

germanicus thought of the toothmarks pitting the woman's small skull. "crowfeather himself is well. he and the queen have found a companion in one another. they study medicine."

ruenna declared then that she would attend the marriage ceremony. the eagle nodded. "i will convey your acceptance to them." the mention of the shadow put him into mind that he should return.

germanicus straightened. "it will be a pleasure to see you at the mesa, lady ruenna. i welcome the day." if she had nothing to add, he would give his bow and turn to leave. 

the caldera had begun to grow into the edge of his wanderlust heart.

"That's a relief," Ruenna sighed, visibly reassured. "Although I do hope Maggie recovers swiftly." She hated to hear that harm had come to an innocent bystander. 

"Crowfeather is soaking up his education like a sponge..." she remarked, surprised to hear that the young man had begun tutelage under yet another teacher. What were Germanicus's thoughts on the subject? Was he sad to loose his trainee to another, or proud to see Crowfeather pursuing his subject of interest? ..Perhaps a little of both? 

The conversation turned to the impending celebration at Akashingo. Ruenna nodded in response to Germanicus. "I'll look forward to it." And she would. She always enjoyed inter-pack mingling, and she was curious to see for herself the inner workings of this wolf-and-coyote fusion pack.