Redsand Canyon acidus

for @Nakida <3

his heart beat wildly.

but it did not show upon the imperator's face.

beneath cover of a slantwise blowing snow, he had returned from akashingo. the imperator shook out his hackles and glanced at the stone bowl paths of the canyon.

mereo.

at once he set a patrol, seeking to ensure that no saint had returned in his absence.

Nakida was no saint of the matter -- not to be related nor concerned with the history of these strange wilds, but she was a rouge. Standing on the edge of what the lass could tell was some lurker's spot. For what she can assume it was nothing but a lurker, because why else would the scents be so dull here?

Orbs of viridecent shards -- curious and seeking in their movement around the expansion of red dust -- had spotted said lurker pacing it's forefronts. To which a sharp chuff was emitted from Nakida's gullet to capture his attention, along with a sharp upward tip of her chin...

germanicus was summoned.

she was a lithe-framed woman with a merled coat and stunning eyes. they glowed as jewels.

the man was amused to think coldly for a moment of ramesses. the egyptian collected many things. 

"hail," he said in answer. the eagle approached with a knowing step, in the manner of a man aware of a stranger.

"this is claimed land, domina." he studied her. "this is mereo."

The man in dark attire and honey eyes approached upon her request, and to him she'd greet them with a relaxed, lopsided smile -- which then turned into a small frown when he'd begin speaking. Confused, Nakida's crown tilted and a brow raised upon it's bone in question. Domina?

"Hm? M'name ain't Domina, it's Nakida." She replied casually, her own accent rolling off her tounge in a similar style to the foreign one he spoke. That was strange -- did all the wolves up her just give random names to the strangers they came across? Some kinda welcoming ritual she hadn't heard about?

Nakida shrugged it off as nothing though -- maybe it was best she found out on her own time.

She took a step closer, though not close enough to cross what the man was clearly guarding, the lass was smart enough to know exactly how that would turn out and as far as Nakida was concerned, she couldn't afford to start a fight in a place where a pack could've hid....speaking of which;

"Mereo then? Your people here, too?"

Where were the others? Out in hiding?

"it is a title of respect, lady nakida." perhaps he was too attuned to roles. germanicus would treat her with the respect afforded a woman until she showed otherwise.

"it is only the beginning of what i hope to be an influential outpost. there are two here with me."

the man regarded her. "i am germanicus." it was not an odd feeling to be head of his own once more.

but crowfeather was not here.

and perhaps ruenna might be.

he set his mind to the task at hand.

The german leader had beat him to edge of the canyon from where the call had come. Kallik had been quite a distance away, and so it had taken him some time to reach the stranger. It didn't matter, though, his job was to protect the canyon form outsiders whether Germanicus was here or not.

So the northerner trotted forward and stood at the leader's side, holding back just a bit to show respect. He nodded once to the captain and then turned his shrew gaze on the woman. He wondered what brought her so close to mereo, but held back his questions as it seemed they were already in the middle of a conversation.

feel free to skip, and i can jump back in as needed

A title of respect he says…..to her, a stranger? 

Well, Nakida personally felt a bit awkward with such formalities being used with her at the get-go, but as she assumed before, this was probably just some strange greeting from the mountains she had yet to learn. Did he have to call him sir now?

The lopsided grin would return to her face soon enough after he introduced his own name -- she was not gonna mirror it though, lest she want to butcher it to hell. Germ-an-i-cus.

Germ?

"Ya got two of 'em back there? Guess that explains why there were more scents behind you then -- damn near thought I was being ambushed instead." She joked dryly with a soft snort, "Nice to meet you, regardless--" and just when she'd finished talking, one of who she assumed was "the two" appeared. Some large, silvery man with muted green eyes. Nakida turned her head to them, possibly feeling a bit on edge with an added body, but choosing not to show it until things turned sour. "--and howdy to you as well." She'd greet as they approached. Didn't seem like much of a talker, looks like. or maybe they were just wary now that there was a wolf near their borders.

Turning her emerald gaze back to Germanicus, she continued with her questions. Not in an interrogation type way, but more curious (or nosey, perhaps). They hadn't run her off yet, and the formation of what was yet to be official left her… strangely intrigued. 

Why not?

"Got any plans after ya set up camp?"

kallik soon joined the pair. as germanicus would have wanted, the pale man maintained his silent observation. the imperator was pleased to see that this calm had not only been a ruse.

"training," he answered to nakida. he did not yet invite her to join them. it appeared the woman for now was more focused upon gathering details.

"it is a good day to meet you. i must insist upon an escort while you are in the territory." the eagle tested her with a calm voice.

D= i hope y'all weren't waiting on me. if so, i'm v sorry to hold this up. i was just going to jump back in later. so sorry for the wait

The woman greeted him but Kallik said nothing, just kept his watchful gaze on her. He had no intention of joining in on the conversation unless directed to do so by the imperator.

She had questions for Germanicus—questions about his plans that the northerner thought ought not to be answered since the woman was a stranger. It seemed the captain thought the same thing because he offered only a vague reply. 

The stranger would need an escort if she wanted to explore the canyon, a job Kallik would take on if asked to. But he wondered if Germanicus would prefer to do it himself. Either way, the auxillary would wait on a command.

powerplaying nakida out <3

the woman chose not to take the escort. she turned and strode away.

the eagle looked toward kallik. he shrugged. they would put a perimeter around this border, to ensure that she truly departed.

the tactician walked on. he expected that the pale auxillary would follow suit.

realized I possibly needed to post again for trade purposes

She must not have been that interested in passing through because she turned and left to hopefully find another way. 

He assumed they would still make sure she did actually leave. So when the imperator turned to follow the border, the auxiliary followed closely behind him.