Northstar Vale muwan

kuku's looking for leadership ( @Towhee, @Arsenio , @Tamar ) but all welcome! <3

---

sparrowhawk.

ajaw brings with them, as promised @Sabah as the pair make their way towards epoch.

an introduction long since passed due, they know.

the morning is cool, but the sun is persistent as it shines upon their back.

steps slow as the border scent grows stronger, urging sabah to stand back and take up position at their flank when their steps finally cease.

a moment taken to drink in the scents before a howl splices through the air: making their presence known.

participants are free to consider her as cameo unless specifically addressed

Another place to where they travel.

Sabah is chosen to join. She had been expecting it.

Closely, she followed, stopping only when she noticed ajaw's gesture. To the side, near his flank she would stand from here on out. His shield; his ears and eyes; his reinforcements, should force be necessary — all unless directed otherwise.

Reyson heard the howl and his mind had been on the wolves that had inhabited what was once Mereo's. He had no designs on Mereo anymore, it was long gone and this was how things went. Packs came and went sometimes. However, a new pack so close. One that made his friend and pack mate uncomfortable, well that didn't sit well with the scarred soldier.

So he went straight towards the border with intent. Ears forward, Eyes alert, every inch the soldier he was raised to be. But there was not mindless fluff that danced behind his ears.

Two stood there, one a big white and black beast, but he was still smaller than Reyson. Something that the veteran was pleased with. The second a female that rivaled his size, but that was alright too.

Hello.

Better to be short and sweet before @Maxim, @Tamar , @Arsenio or @Towhee got here.

in the end, it was tamar who came.

her small frame soon flanked that of the powerful soldier. but her smile was welcoming.

"you are from the canyon," she said softly, hinting that the coming of this one had been expected. 

her eyes fell thoughtfully to the other and then back to the main wolf. "i am tamar, morphe of epoch."

---

a heavily scarred man greets them.

a warrior, ajaw thinks. or a survivor, perhaps.

a simple greeting is offered from the scarred man in the tongue of many.

this one greets you, ajaw speaks in response with a diplomatic dip of their head as a woman approaches. they smell like the angry woman and ajaw considers their approach carefully in case they all reacted with the same hostility.

yes, tikal has made the suncanyon it's home, ajaw replies despite understanding that it hadn't truly been a question. tamar, morphe of epoch... this one is called kuhul ajaw.

they do not introduce sabah, but that is because of ajaw's sacrosanct belief in names ... that the wolves of these wilds toss 'round so very easily.

this one has come in the name of diplomacy. but ajaw does not delve deeper yet, not without knowing how that would be percieved.

Had the veteran been privy to the other's thoughts. He'd have agreed he was indeed a soldier, a survivor. And once upon a time he had hated himself for it, surviving, when so many lay dead.

Reyson tilted an ear forward. He saw none of the hostility that Towhee had spoken of. And yet it still unsettled him that they had surrounded her. And he had no reason to doubt what Towhee said as truth.

So for now, he'd simply wait and watch. Jump in if they even twitched towards Tamar.

did reyson mean his future in epoch?

tamar experienced a surreal moment as she stood there before the wolves of tikal.

diplomacy. she drew herself up. "kuhul ajaw. what sort of wolves are you?" she asked quietly, keeping in mind towhee's words as well as her own.

she did not need to bend. but neither would she break.

---

tikal is home to elite warriors, ajaw speaks honestly, thinking namely of their holcan. and traders alike. trading is sacred to this one and tikal. it is...— a pause is given as they search for the word in the tongue of many.

...holy.

they remember.

this one would invite you and your wolves to our seasons gifts...where tikal opens a three day trade market in a neutral territory with it's neighbors and loners.

ajaw does not tell her that paleo has agreed to attend; at least not yet.

Reyson would have fit well with them in his younger years. Though not now. His mind was far too broken and his body too battered. But he would have relished the challenge once upon a time, even now he could still fight with the best of them he supposed.

He thought of the wolf Rodyn that was a trader. He had seen him at the borders of many of the packs. Never spoken with him majorly, but knew of him.

Reyson looked at Tamar to await for what she may say. He didn't now if he and Meadow would be here. He had set that ball firmly in her court, but he had told her he would stay. Weather the storm if she wished to be a part of Epoch still.

towhee would not be pleased.

tamar was grateful that this one had not lied to her. she was admittedly curious about the sort of trade that was holy.

"that choice is not only mine to make," the morphe said quietly. "but you may go, knowing there is peace between us. i will send you a message when a decision has been formed."

---

this one understands. ajaw speaks simply. they would not push, not so certain that this would end with peace.

either way, tikal would be ready.

come, holcan. ajaw speaks to sabah, gesturing for her to follow them as they retrace their steps back towards their canyon home.

Reyson said nothing. Only watched as they walked away. He didn't know them. Didn't know if he trusted them, but it was not his call. This was for Tamar, Aresenio, Towhee and Maxim. He would simply do what he always done. His duty. For now it belonged to the leaders of Epoch and meadow.

He looked to the quiet Morphe beside him waiting to see if she had anything more to say.

they departed.

tamar watched them go. in a small and unreadable voice, her eyes fixed upon their path, she spoke to the man beside her.

"diplomacy only exists when warriors are satisfied."

Reyson looked down at her with a sad look. And unfortunately often enough warriors are never satisified. Not when it comes to a threat they surmise. But for what it's worth I believe you did the only thing you could do in this case. At least until we know more.

she turned away, back toward epoch.

"should we attend this trade market?" it would send a message if they were not in attendance. tamar was not sure they could afford such a directive to skilled warriors when epoch held so many young children.

to have more goods would benefit the vale. mereo had formed to monitor the traffick and main paths through this part of the sunspire. now tikal sat with advantage, while epoch was tucked behind the great mountain.

suppose they denied the invitation? would they see such an attack before it came?

yet she did not share her thoughts, for they were barely formed. she sought counsel only in the soldier for now.

He nodded. Their kind will not attack you for trade days. I don't know of them well. But i have seen warriors like these. Once many years ago. Though they had been women, not men. To them both fighting and trading are sacred and if they allow you to trade with them, they will not sully the meeting with blood. And they will expect the same of us.


he gave a soft mmm in his throat. That is if they are who i believe they are. And I am vey seldom wrong of warriors, my lady Tamar.

However, that was all he knew. He knew no more than that. He didn't know if they would attack if they denied to trade. And he didn't know if they would deny Them entry if there was bad blood, but he did know they would not attack uring the trade, but neither could they.

I am operating under the assumption that he would at least have come across warriors like these given his origins as a warrior.

she took this to heart.

"thank you, reyson. your knowledge here is appreciated." careful as she had become, poised as she must be, especially facing the loss of another sister.

she had told herself it would be so, as not to be caught off-guard.

"i want to see what they deem sacred. i will talk to towhee and arsenio. in the meantime, will you look at our stores and see what we have to give? i think at least three good skins and some herbs might be worth. epoch can offer knowledge, if we decide to go."

He dipped his head, unsure what else to say. There was underlying tension with her. And he wasn't sure if it was because of him or because of Meadow, but he was ready to get out of here now.

He nodded his head. I can hunt too. And Meadow would be the one to ask about herbs. He didn't have much else to say. His thoughts already going over what he needed to do. I'll go check Lady Tamar. Be well.

"and you, reyson."

quietly she returned to the grove, where she would later wake with a light fever requiring days of rest.