Hideaway Strath what's more wrong; that I too wish to be great

His march took him from the desert, walk steady. He took his time to not overheat, to not die before he fulfilled that request Germanicus placed on his shoulders.

So, he walked. Until the ground turned plush beneath his feet, and the temperatures cooled, and nothing stopped him from speeding up.

Past Akashingo’s Mesa, through the wilderness he once ran through (did they ever find Khaba, he wondered), through the mountains, and to unexplored lands.

The Hinterlands opened before him, and he ducked and avoided wolf scent to track the furthest he could from civilization. He came out stumbling, half in delirium from little sleep and long travel. But he stood here, at the great entrance of a fortress. Breath coming in cutting pants, Aquillius observed the passage further into the strath with trepidation. The smell wafting from within seemed to speak of horrors, of a death he could not have fortold. Something deep in him spoke of safety. Of the defensibility of such a place. Station the sentries there, and there. Muster your forces at the crux of the moon’s light through the passage. No one gets in. No one gets out.

Aquillius’s tongue darted from his lips.

Perfect.

Civilization had laid its feet here, Aquillius would learn as he went further into the strath, but whoever was here was long gone. Only blood, soaked into the dirt.

When @Germanicus found his son, he’d find he’d already picked a battlefield to make his home.

Freshly returned to the copse, Towhee wasted no time in assuming patrols. She favored the southern sweeps, picturing the wolf Meerkat had described to her as she warily eyed the glade on every pass. She had yet to catch his scent, though she did come across another, belonging to a younger male. It was familiar.

Towhee hesitantly departed through the neighboring woods, headed toward the strath. Could it really be one of Rue’s kids here? When was the last time she’d seen any of them? They were supposed to be her nieces and nephews, though all of their aspirations for that way of life had really self-destructed, as they were wont to do.

She reached the natural gateway and refused to venture any further, though she knew Aquillius must be in there. Towhee retreated to a sun-dappled spot just outside to wait for him to emerge.

The ground reeked of death.

There were bodies here, odd juts of dirt and rock telling stories he did not know. Aquillius walked a quick circle, just touching the trees, his one eyed gaze distant. So much here.

He rested his paw upon one of the rolls of stone.

Something bad happened here.

His mouth twitched.

Enough to drive out the witches.

He turned, tail snaking behind him. He would rest at the outer edges of this valley, for a time, then set to taking it as his own.

Their own.

It was when he was emerging that a face caught his attention, and he turned his eye to the interloper with a bemused expression.

I know you. Once upon a long time ago.

She reminisced about her Mereo days while she sat there and waited. She wondered if @Ruenna had ever found relief from the pain. Aside from Aquillius, what had become of her other children? And, of course, Towhee couldn’t help but wonder about @Germanicus. It was probably best if she and the Imperator didn’t cross paths after what he’d done to @Fennec, but she was morbidly curious…

At last, a swarthy figure walked out of the passageway. Towhee’s eyes panned over him. His eyes reminded her of Caracal’s, which made her heart pang. Maybe he was blind in one too. Towhee drew a breath in through her nose, gaze dropping to his lips to catch his opener. She smirked, not unkindly.

It’s been a long time, Aquillius, she acknowledged, but I never forget a face, especially one that was buried in my tits once. What the heck are you doing here, kid? Don’t you know this place is a hellhole? Towhee said, gesturing at the strath behind him.

Towhee.

Mother to Fennec, and Aquillius’s face twitched oddly to think of his former stepmother. He offered a slight tip of his tail, side to side.

Settling. He offered, not wanting to be too forthcoming with information. Even if this woman had once nursed him.

It seems decent enough, despite the graves. Maybe I could spruce it up. he wiggled his toes. Bone decor was all the rage, he heard from no one, ever.

What of you? Why are you here?

Her head reared back. She really hadn’t expected that. It wasn’t that it was too close to the copse—there was a whole forest in between and it might actually be nice for Meerkat et al to have neighbors—but Towhee felt a terrible need to warn him.

Goggling a little at the mention of graves, she told him, I was trapped in there once, after an earthquake sealed the passage. There were several of us stuck in there and I almost killed myself climbing out. It was a fucking terrible time. If you’re looking for new digs, can I interest you in… literally anywhere else?

Death was a very good friend to him now. It didn’t concern him as much as it should, perhaps. His hum was low, and he pretended to entertain the idea.

But with a place so infused with death? Why wouldn’t he be sat in the middle of it. Soaking it into his very marrow. That, and he just liked it.

This is the first place I’ve found. It was the truth, beyond a bone filled ravine. Even though he liked that one, he knew it wasn’t sustainable unless he was either vermin, or very determined to become a bleached skull.

What else is around? An obvious probe for information, maybe, but he needed to know.

So much, she replied without missing a beat. I mean, the copse to the north is spoken for… but there’s so many great landmarks out here. You should check out Golden Glade. There’s Heron Plateau too, if you like heights and water features. And so much more, Towhee repeated.

But she knew it wasn’t really her place, so she relented. She even held up her paws as if to say, I rest my case. Maybe Aquillius didn’t mind courting entrapment and death. She didn’t really know.

So, what made you decide to settle in this neck of the woods? Have you been in touch with your family? Towhee wondered.

Golden Glade. Heron Plateau. All added to a giant mental checklist. Unfortunately, he knew, this place could not be sustained by just himself or his father.

My father, sometimes. Valiria and Cornelius, I’ve seen them recently. A half lie. His face twisted again, something resembling a grimace. Aquillius dragged his tongue over his nose.

I have not seen my mother or Alivia since she left. He could not remember her face, nor that of his sister. None of his family looked like her, the ones he had left. He himself looked just like his father.

He wondered, sometimes, if he carried any of Ruenna in him.

He named his father, brother and sister. Towhee was about to ask how each of them was doing when Aquillius brought up Ruenna. He said he hadn’t seen her or Alivia since they’d departed the wilds. Her lips pressed together, feeling a momentary sadness wash through her. She missed her friend. Surely Aquillius missed his mom too.

How’s your old man doing these days? And how are Liri and… Corny? Towhee laughed at herself, which felt kind of good after so much melancholy lately. Are any of them coming here—well hopefully not here, but—to help you settle?

He pressed his lips together in a tight simulacrum of a smile, a barely there thing before it was gone away again.

At the current moment, I am unaware of if they are coming here. His hope was eventually they would converge here. That the witch’s valley hadn’t taken the life of his father as penance for perceived sins. His mood swirled dark like smoke as he thought of the valley of sin, and it’s shelter for witches.

But there was little to be done.

But they are doing well. If you counted their family bonding of crippling a woman, that is.

Towhee couldn’t detect tone, of course, but something about Aquillius’s robotic answer tickled her funny bone. A little laugh escaped through her nose before she could stop it, though she did manage to regain control of herself fairly quickly. She shot him an apologetic look, then smiled at his news that everyone was doing well.

Glad to hear that. Or, well, you know… Towhee gestured absently, indicating her ears, then her eyes. My daughter, Meerkat, is setting up shop in the copse, as I mentioned. I’ve been spending a lot of time there recently, though I’m not officially part of it. You should swing by sometime and meet her and her mate, especially since you might end up neighbors and all…

Meerkat, and her mate. The copse. Aquillius mentally jotted that down, tucking it away for later usage. If he could just convince someone of his relentless pursuit, his campaign to end the life of the witch before she spread her darkling magic…

He shook off the thought, offering the woman who had helped to raise him a little smile, one that stayed this time. It softened his face, made him back into the youth he still was behind the mania.

I will do so, Towhee. It would be good to have friendly neighbors. Especially for long, complicated campaigns.

The mention of neighborliness reminded Towhee to say, Also, heads up: there’s a dude named @Amaguq skulking around these parts. He mentioned he’d been spending time in the glade, specifically. He crossed paths with my daughter, who was with a kid from Moonspear at the time, and that didn’t stop him from being a total fucking creep. So keep an eye out, she advised.

Right after those words left her lips, Towhee realized Aquillius and this Amaguq guy were both missing an eye. Maybe it made her an asshole but she laughed under her breath at her unintentional pun.

On that note, I need to get back to my patrols. But come by the copse sometime, she repeated the invitation. If I’m still there, we can catch up some more. Take care of yourself, Aquillius.

She offered a small smile and wave of her tail before her eyes lifted, expression shifting into a scowl as she regarded the archway behind him. Towhee quickly tore her eyes away and turned with a final woof, trotting back toward the fringes of the copse.