Redtail Rise metzengerstein

she patrols with @Relic, occasionally pausing to spar with her son along the border in playful fashion. he's surpassing her in height and weight, and she's glad for it. the musculature of. . .whomever his father is. . .is shining through, clearly.

bumping shoulders with the young lad, she stares wistfully out over the plains, perched upon the cliffs that separates them from the open land. there's plenty of space upon the plateau, sure, but she wants more.

she just doesn't have the numbers.

and Atreus and all who have left her are out there, somewhere. and Aventus, too, looking for his son.

they ought to be here. they all ought to be here.

tags for reference!

Lilia prowled, searching for Reki, Ancelin or Prophet. All three of them, she thought, could help her earn the trade that Avicus had demanded she learn. When she caught the leader's scent,  and that of her son patrolling, she thought she might have a chance to learn a bit more from her. Thus far, she was likely seen as no more than Prophet's wayward ward, more of a burden than anything else. And truth be told, she had been, when she'd been malnourished and in need of a home and a caretaker. But now, she was growing, and her energy was boundless. Now, her ambition had returned- and she would repay that, somehow. 

She crept along, following the scent of the two wolves until she could see them. She remained low, hunkered down so she could see what they might be up to. She wouldn't want to interrupt something important but...It looked almost as though Avicus was simply relaxing a bit, enjoying the view of the plains. Lilia squinted slightly. Maybe, if she just got a bit closer...She could surprise Avicus with her stealth.

rolled in tabletop for a failure to notice Lilia as of now!

if there's something stirring in the near distance, Avicus doesn't register it. she rips her eyes away from the horizon at a bark from her son, and moves to see whatever he's summoning her about.

it's bear dung, but not fresh. strange that it sits atop the snow, but perhaps something had dug the massive droppings up, catching the faint scent. old and crystallized by ice, it gives off no odor now—not unless one pressed their muzzle to the stuff, which she didn't intend to do.

instead, Avicus looks toward the high points of the Rise, brows knitting together.

was there a bear, hibernating somewhere within those crags, ready to pose a threat when everything thawed out in some months' time?

she sighs, breath pooling into graceful fog upon the frigid air.

She halted with each step, barely breathing. It was exhilarating getting to sneak up on her leader, even if it was only inch by inch. Of course, Avicus could simply be ignoring her- but Lilia suspected that if Avicus was bothered by being stalked, she probably would've told her off by now. It was practice, and practice was what she needed. 

She was too far away to make an ambush still, though that remained on her list of intentions. She crept forward, keeping her eyes trained on both the ruddy alpha and her son, hoping she might just make it another few more feet closer without being noticed. Even getting this close, though, she thought was a pretty impressive feat.

rolled a notice this time!

rising above her fears of a bear is a nearby scent on the wind, and her head jerks suddenly upright, nostrils flaring as she tastes the air. head on a swivel, her shoulders straighten and her gaze grows imperious, cutting into the ragged landscape of the lower Rise.

girl? she calls out, for she's determined it's Lilia, the would-be princess, close at hand. you. c'mere.

her bark is an order, but not unkind; her eyes roll slightly sideways toward Relic, who shifts impatiently, muscles rippling under his multi-toned coat.

she watches the perimeter just ahead, waiting for the young woman to make her appearance.

impressive, that she's gotten so far without being noticed.

Damn the wind. As it rose, Avicus took note of a smell that was much nearer to her than she had previously been aware, and Lilia smiled faintly as the alpha's head turned this way and that until she was summoned. Paying very little mind to the young man alongside her, who also seemed to turn his shoulder, she stood up and shook her pelt out, glad she no longer had to crouch. 

With dainty feet she picks her way forward, still treading lightly as she does so, even though she's already been caught. The alpha's eyes are trained out in the distance, and Lilia gazes past her with concern. "You thee thomethin'?" She asks, sniffing.

the look of her isn't unlike Erzulie and Rosalyn, albeit in different pattern. but she's not one of the wayward Sapphique pups; she'd know by now. Avicus gives her a brusque nod as she approaches, and turns her gaze again toward the horizon, only gazing sidelong at the question.

no, she responds briefly, shaking her head. juhh' lookin'.

if she'd been in the human world, some spiel of 'everything the light touches. . .'

as it is, she takes pride in the vast expanse even beyond the Rise. few wolves accompany it, and she considers the land hers, at least to feast upon.

she again faces the girl, frowning slightly. where you from? she asks. she'd never gotten a clear answer.

Lilia settled her haunches to the ground, though she still stared out with somewhat of a narrowed squint, as though warning off anything that might have been lurking out there, beyond the borders. She clenched her jaws. She kind of wished that there had been something to see- something they could chase off or some poor suck come to try and join a pack before winter who would bow down to them. Of course, they'd be bowing to Avicus- but her as well, by association. She, too, was as possessive as a cat. If it was within her line of sight, it was hers. Her fantasies would have to wait. 

She looked up when Avicus asked her where she was from. She hadn't had to think about it for some time- and some of her earliest memories had begun to disappear. This new home had fulfilled her needs, and provided her with new youth to consider as her peers, and a new guardian who always came home. She could remember the ice, the snow. She hadn't been born in winter, and yet there had always been ice and snow. She felt she could find her way back, if she wanted- but that was the thing. She didn't want to. She didn't miss her siblings, whose names were now forgotten. She couldn't picture the mother who had fed her, and taught her her first words. 

"u-Redtail Wrise," She stated, firmly. Correcting her rhotacism wasn't easy, but for the name of her pack, she'd put in the effort.

the answer surprises her somewhat; her gaze widens for a moment, then narrows again, a steely glint entering the indigo orbs. i mean before, she shoots back, unsure whether the girl is truly clueless or needling her.

should it be the latter. . .

no, Lilia has behaved thus far under Prophet's watchful eye. and perhaps she feels so settled that she really does consider this place home.

but with her aims of 'princess'—which she knows had disconcerted her own daughters; one needn't be a mind reader to intuit their looks at the gathering of the youth—it is. . .interesting.

disturbing, somewhat.

but she's just a girl.

you were, too, once

Before.

Lilia's gaze narrowed. Before; what had even come before, and what did it matter now? There was little she could remember, aside from being the child of the leaders. Why they'd left...She would never know. She did not recall their names, or even her surname. 

"'Befoer' doeth not exitht anymore. I'm the only one left." Just because she couldn't recall the details did not mean she could not make her own story. "The only thurvivor." She said. "I wath to be a leada. That'th why I wanna leawn to be thtu-rong. I have to." She said with a firm nod of her head.

Avicus nods, and notes her stilted speech. at that, she sticks out her tongue, revealing the scarred stump of it, dangling toward Lilia.

a fighh' 'hhookh my 'hhongue, she remarks, then lets the appendage retreat, giving the girl a gimlet look. why d'you 'hhpeak oddh?

the girl's the only wolf she knows with odd speech patterns.

perhaps they're the only two on earth.

at any rate, it's warmed her to the wayward pup, and her body language relaxes, fur bristling less than before.

She did not like being addressed about her speech impediment. Especially not when Avicus had a perfectly good reason to speak differently, and she did not. At least, she didn't think that she had a physical reason why she lisped and had a rhotacism. She wanted to have a response that would leave her some dignity, but could not lie and say she had some sort of injury or deformity. 

"Orphaned." Was her firm, cold answer. In the cold on the glacier, she'd been left alone, no one to teach her how to speak properly, no one to feed her or look after her. Even when there had been others, they didn't correct her speech. "Tu-rying to leawn now." She would do better, but it would take some amount of speech therapy to correct her developed speech patterns. 

The sight of Avicus' bitten tongue remained in her mind. "You bite 'em back?" She asked. "The one that took yo-a tongue?"

her jaw clenches upon the word. orphaned. she can't help but feel the same, grown as she is—but it's different for the girl, so young. what a brave little soul, making it alone out here.

Avicus chuckles at the queries and nods. mmhm, she replies, nodding. alwayhh' 'hhake bloodh from 'em, Lilia. even if you're bleedin'.

pressing her mouth against the ice, her body growing cold—

you bite 'em back? Avicus asks, and it's vague, but perhaps the girl knows what she means. not a corporeal bogieman, but something beyond. or something intangible. she thinks it's a 'yes.' Lilia is tough.

and still. . .

The red woman's laughter sent a chill through Lilia's blood, causing her hackles to lift slightly. Laughter, for her, had become a rarity, so to hear it from her leader left her grappling for a proper response. She wasn't sure whether she should be wary or proud of herself, but she seemed to have inspired a moment of mirth for the leader. She'd take that as a win. She flicked her tongue over her lips at the Wealda's advice. Noted. 

The fate of her family was still unknown, and the question asked felt uncomfortable. She stared out toward the horizon, where Avicus' own gaze had been transfixed, earlier. The tangible answer wouldn't have sufficed. Lilia set her jaw and growled softly. 

"Evuh-ry day." 

If something had killed her family, she lived in spite of it. If they'd been wiped out by an avalanche, still, she lived in spite of it. And if they'd chosen to leave her- they'd regret it.

it's that moment that Lilia becomes a daughter, de facto.

if she can continue to prove herself.

the acceptance of conflict, of strife. easily, with difficulty—they share a speech impediment. but their muscles are strong, and don't impede them beyond words.

Avicus gazes down upon Lilia, and gives her a solemn nod.

pah'hrol wi' uhh' she commands, and glances at Relic, who seems unopposed to their visitor. a half-smile, tucked in the fleshy corner of her mouth.

she walks on, expecting the other to follow.

The invitation was an appreciated distraction, and she nodded curtly in response. She tossed a neutral glance to the other youngster, who had been with her. They hadn't spoken much together, but she took that to mean that he was possibly a bit more neutral than the other pups. Hard to tell; they ran in different circles. 

Her head dropped, and she began scenting. The forest scent was well-known to her now, and patrolling was something she understood to mean making sure that the scents around the borders did not change. Prey were free to wander of course, but the wolves who crossed their threshold were only to be the ones who also sported their scent. She paused to strengthen a scent which had gone weak, and scuffed the earth with her paws afterwards for extra effect. 

"What'th the hithto-wy of thith pack?" She asked, hoping she might learn a bit more about their beginnings while they patrolled.

Avicus pauses from marking some brush to look at Lilia in reply to her question.

i came here for revenge againhh' woman who killedh my Ma, she says. oh'her wolvehh' came. i needed warriorhh'. and here we are.

it's as simple as that. obviously she'd been groomed from birth to be a leader, but only Astara's death had rocketed her into that purpose. 

we will kill her, one day, Avicus vows, looking at the two youths. and everyone who followhh' her.

with that, urine streams across the Rise's boundary, hot and steaming against the bracing breeze.

Surprise caused Lilia to look up at Avicus for a moment, something akin to vengeance in her eyes. Avicus had lost her mother too. It wasn't fair. They'd both lost so much; she felt a kinship with the red woman, and a deep sense of pride. She'd come here for vengeance. She had grown her family, and had begun to shape the new brood into the ideal pack. She was doing just what it was the Lilia wished to do herself- but for Avicus, who was owed much more than she'd been given, she'd contribute everything she could, here. 

Lilia uttered a rumbling growl at Avicus' oath. She pressed her cheeks against bark, leaving scent markings, and paused only a moment to recognize the tracks of a squirrel in the new snow. Tricky prey. She roved forward, seeking out another distinctive tree to mark. "What doeth the wolf look like?" She asked. She would need to know.

big, she answers readily. very big. and whihe, like. . . she scuffs the snow on the ground before them, sending tiny flurries scattering in the gentle breeze.

her teeth are gritted. yellow eyehh'. she sees them clear as day, but in flashes—the look as she'd flung her baby brother, rattled his gentle bones. the orbs as she'd witnessed from a distance, tearing her mother apart.

she looks at Lilia, and smiles very faintly as the girl leaves scent markings of her own along the Rise's weakest border.

she's a part of them now. Prophet has done well with her.

want to fade? <3

I will keep an eye out for her. But the white woman is yours, she commits. This is a win that Avicus needs. She would help as much as she could.

Until then, they would patrol- and ward the bitch off the best they could.