Redtail Rise XXIX

set for evening of dec 30! just wanted to get it up now :D

@Avicus @Prophet @New Snow @Ashlar @Masquerade @Lilia @Redd @Bobcat

the ulfhedinn had taken two days from his return journey. he ate snow the third night rather than hunt, and he did not sleep for longer than four hours at a time.

the weather had warmed and broken the crust of ice atop the snow. he slogged through it toward the familiar rising of the redtail land.

before he had even come close to the threshold of their western border, when it was just in sight, augur stopped and called for them all. he told them of the plateau over the mountains and the killer's scent. it was time to move quickly, though in the end all orders came from red woman.

one post for him!

Ashlar was terrified. He’d gathered up what supplies he could and thrown them together, but he dreaded with his entire soul what they were walking into. Visions of Ursus kept him awake at night, and he worried himself sick about losing Avicus. Losing Prophet, Augur… the children. Any of his family.

It would be his fault, if he could not save them.

It was time and the bard approached with timid dread. He stood back, supplies grasped firmly, and stared at the ones who came with flattened ears. Ashlar thought he might throw up. He should have stopped this. He should have convinced them more that this wasn’t the way to find happiness. But he knew it was too late, and that arguing with Avicus would only lead her to be angry with him too. He didn’t want that either. Especially not now.

He would follow and he would do what he could. But he already knew that it would not be enough.

The sound of her mates call caused her tail to stir. She listened to his song, knowing it’s meaning. She moved to a cache to dig free something that had been hunted not too long ago during her mates absence; to him, she brought meat she had stowed away. New Snow remembered the way of walking alone, and that hunting was hard. It was Winter in full now. Before they left to do what must be done, he would eat. 

And so she came to him with the leg of the cloven-footed stag. It was but a day old (not too long ago indeed!), and though it was not warm she knew they must conserve their energy for the hunt to come. 

New Snow dropped it before his paws and nosed it toward him, and loosed a happy noise to see him still looking hale after his trip. Quick to press the scents of herself and the Rise upon him once more, New Snow licked her chops and did not think of the odds. Only that the Rise stood together against their common enemy.

the faithful gather. she appears over the crest of one slope, sliding over the slick surface a bit iced over from drizzle and warming weather. 

crunch crunch as her paws sink in.

crunch crunch, the imagined sound of bones breaking between her teeth;

Augur gives his news: she's been found. and quickly, at that. she pads toward him and mouths the top of his muzzle, tail wagging in unmistakable pleasure, then turns to the rest of her pack.

lehggo, she says without hesitation, and without waiting for an answer, she'll turn and gallop toward the road to vengeance.

only post for me!

The call stippled her skin with goosebumps, causing her guard hairs to rise like quills. Lilia uttered a low growl in response and bolted for the border. She gritted her teeth together. Something about his tone was insistent; it wasn’t the defeated call of one who had lost the scent. It was a siren song for warriors.

She expected to have been challenged by Ancelin more in the past day but she hadn’t been able to track him down. When’s he arrived at the border, Augur was in good shape. No sign of conflict from what she could see. His instructions- spoken with a voice infrequently used- portrays their route. Lilia’s lower jaw chatters in anticipation. She’s ready. She wants in on the action. 

Avicus’ command is given and she lets out a triumphant war cry, seeking to rally the spirits of the few who have gathered. 

likely just one post from me :)

adjusting this slightly for other ic events <3 oop

Redd still had not entirely made peace with the one who sought to be queen, and as such was not tolerant of her more outward moves to buck the hierarchy.  She preferred the order as it was.

When Lilia called, Redd did not join in.  From the background she faded in and growled, low in her throat, eyes focused on the girl. She wished her to learn.

It wasn’t her place to call them forth.  That was for Wealda, First hunter, and First fang of the rise.  

Lilia had become pack, but in a clumsy way, one the shadow sought to remedy.  In her Redd saw danger.  This bothered her in a far more immediate way than the war they moved towards.

They would always come when their Wealda called, the only possible exception being death. As terribly as they felt, they were far from dead. They made their way to the rally, their throat rasping with a harsh cough every few minutes. They were in no condition to fight, though that would not stop them from supporting their pack.

When they arrived, the others were already disembarking. Masque was not surprised, considering they were moving more slowly than usual. Heedless of how they might infect the others, the Toweard trailed after the caravan, making a point to follow Redd’s pawprints in particular across the snowy landscape.