Redtail Rise LI

the tension between skin tooth and thorn caller did not go unwatched.

the boy turned away. augur growled, jerking upright as thorn caller fell.

he did not turn back. the huntlead was astonished.

he nosed close to @Masquerade, checking for breath or wounds. 

@New Snow, called for now.

he panted, glancing around as if red woman herself might appear.

Avicus had heard the cry. 

cutting off a hunting expedition prematurely, she races toward the sound, the fear mounting in her heart. she comes closer,  closer;

and sees Augur near the slumped form of her daughter, unmoving—

a growl rumbles in her throat. but no, no, he examines her to help, not hurt. . .

wary but unable to resist the pull of mother to child, Avicus wavers a tail-length away, plaintive.

a reek reaches her nose. angry. possessive.

Ancelin.

she looks at her longtime huntmaster with grave eyes and says, he didh 'hhis. 'hhey did. 

and apology, too, in those indigo orbs.

red woman came alone.

augur watched her quietly, then lowered his muzzle to snuffle over thorn caller's withers.

the accusation swung his ears forward.

no. something else.

he motioned to the lack of saliva or blood on the quiet body, then to the ground where they had walked.

augur did not yet return her expression.

how can he continue to make excuses?

but even as her blood boils, the more rational part of her brain wins out. he's right. no wounds.

no evidence, save that nearby middle-finger-in-smello-vision.

she closes the gap to Masquerade and presses her muzzle to her daughter's throat, relieved to find the steady, if faint, drum of a heartbeat there.

Avicus inhales deeply, exhales on a sigh.

the bear had taken her strength. and now, she thinks it might have taken her pack's soul.

Augur, she says, voice softer than perhaps he'd ever heard it. broken—if only a hairline fracture, barely perceptible. i don' wanna figh' anyone.

least of all you.

just a single post, I won’t reply after this unless she is pulled in since she won’t enter redtail <3

Masquerade had gone to broker peace, an action Redd silently disapproved of.  If Lilia and Augur did not see the crime of turning away a rank challenge without the respect of a proper chance to prove it, even when involving the matriarch of the rise, their minds would not be moved.  They had resolved to break the customs.

She would not have been surprised to see Masquerade come back dejected.  She was surprised to hear their voice on the wind.

She arrived not long after her mother to stop silently beyond the border, gaze fixated where the call had originated.  She did not know what had happened, but only Avicus’ presence prevented her rushing to defend her sibling from whatever harm had been inflicted.  She knew her mother would summon her should the calm break.

As their senses very sluggishly returned to them, Masquerade could’ve fretted about myriad things. But in their barely lucid state, they found they only cared about one thing: they were disproportionately concerned @Carrion would mistake them for dead and try to eat them.

A thin whine eked out of their throat as Masque tried to tell her that they were still much too fresh for that…

You can power-play and skip them, I just wanted to get this in my log.

New Snow came, having hunted a rabbit to add to the cache of the Rise. But the sound of the one who had once been Caru, and then her mate, had her crashing through the woods. By the time she arrived, all matter of debris was knotted into her furs. 

Red Woman was present, and the scent of Wolverine’s man. And on the floor—

A low whine. New Snow drifted only as near as permitted, ears pressed back onto her crown. She herself was submissive; New Snow might have not left the Rise, but she had no intent to lead it. Nor was her spirit proud, or dominant. 

One ear turned toward her own man, listening. Another whine. What happened? She too noted the lack of blood, or anything else to reveal a fight.

red woman and stone man faced each other over the whimpering form of a child they might have created.

her voice was soft. he listened.

a swing of his muzzle. there was no fight between them. augur would not shed redtail blood, and if his own was sought he would only leave.

it was wolverine. the yellow eyes were quiet. red woman had left. he had put another as leader. but not as wealda.

his breath shuddered over the marks that skin tooth had made, had left behind.

the boy was angry. he walked the rise in rage. augur heard it, felt it, and yet had not responded.

perhaps his faith in self had weakened.

new snow was given a look. they quarreled. but did not fight. thorn caller fell.

Redd is close by; she'd heard the footfalls, caught the scent. New Snow arrives, too, but Avicus's attention is trained on Masquerade, who begins to rouse.

wha' happened? she questions softly—but perhaps her daughter is too addled to answer. her golden eyes seem far-seeing, clouded.

what had happened? but there's only mystery to Masquerade's fall.

Ancelin has left no doubt as to his intentions.

i will no' allow ihh', Avicus says firmly, straightening and dipping her nose toward her nephew's scent markings in gesture. she meets Augur's gaze again, kind but sure. i will no' be dihh'repeck'ed like dhih'.

as to Masque. . . her heart seizes painfully at thought of Ashlar; surely he'd be the best person to look after her, while the Wealda deals with matters elsewhere. she looks back to Redd—if she's within view; if not, she chuffs in invitation.

we will waih' here un'hil Mack can walk, she decides. perhaps she should summon @Mulherin as well; she knows the boy is close with his older sister.

still skippable if this sprees out at any point

Redd did not intend to draw nearer, but Avicus’ summons wasn’t one she felt she could ignore.  Her nerves were taught wire as she approached, low and unthreatening, across the near borders.  Augur would be within his rights to chase her from this place; she bore the scent of a stranger now.

While she rebelled at recent decisions, she was not stupid enough to claim rank of her own.  She had no challenge to bring but her mother’s, and she knew that proving would come soon.  It was inevitable; those of the rise would accept nothing less.  These were still his lands now.

She came closer and kept near to Avicus, awaiting direction and ready to assist or flee, whichever circumstances demanded.  Masquerade did not appear injured, nor did she scent blood, but this only made the situation worse.  Where the unknown lay, fear could only grow.

Their irrational fear about being eaten by their sister faded into the ether as Masque began to rouse properly. Their head still pounded dully as they cracked open their eyes, struggling to focus and get their bearings. When everything came back to them in a sickening rush, they jolted upright into a crouch. Their ears pinned against their skull as they looked wildly from face to concerned face. There was no sign of Ancelin among them.

He— the yearling said abortively, pushing into a sit as their eyes found and focused on Augur in particular. He told me to find you, but he wasn’t making any sense. Now their gaze swung to Avicus. He said you have to come here and take it. Their jaw clenched as they climbed gingerly to all fours, eyes flashing as they nearly spat, He started marking and told me he was going to make me leave.

Masque’s temple throbbed and their face twisted into a grimace, tongue snaking out between bared teeth. They prickled, the pain shortening their patience and their temper both. They thought of their instant regret upon snapping at Carrion and wondered if they were going to similarly regret the words that came seething out of their mouth now.

We are not going anywhere, Masquerade rumbled, eyes cutting from Avicus to Augur, then to New Snow and Redd.

skipping NS w permission! also last for augur <3

red woman wished to fight. augur had not doubted the desire, only its surety. thorn caller roused, spoke. augur concerned himself with observing them for a moment, then smoothed his tongue along his jaws.

nothing had changed, save for skin tooth's seething anger.

and it had not come until the rise had been churned twice.

it would come to blows.

a decision was made. the huntleader stood and moved away from the small group, watching down into the rise for any sign of wolverine or skin tooth.

and then he called out for them, though it was the powerful warning boom of a father and not their leader.

go.

his voice filled the rise, overflowed to surround the wolves at the border, and only in the middle of its hanging echoes did he look back toward red woman.

blood settled blood. he would not fight alongside her for it. nor would he stand in her way. 

perhaps for the last time in his capacity as ulfhedinn, augur broke into a wolf's-trot that carried him away from redtail, knowing new snow would follow. they would regroup with @Saturdays Sunrise elsewhere while red woman scourged her land for those who would not bend.

Masquerade rouses, speaks. Avicus listens, her ire rising with each word.

we are not going anywhere, her daughter vows.

no. no, they will not.

Augur lifts his muzzle, calls for Lilia and Ancelin to leave now. she sincerely hopes they do.

they deserve the world—but this land is hers to command.

Avicus watches her hunt-leader depart and then turns to her daughters again. can you walk? she asks Masque. the young woman was on her feet, but looked a little worse for the wear.

if so: we will regroup at the ridge.

and if not. . .

every fiber in every muscle screams to confront the usurpers now. alone, if no one else follows.

but she's aged out of such foolish notions—and perhaps they will listen to Augur, after all.

last from me, feel free to pp her leaving the scene w masque and redd

Finally, in her eyes, Augur saw sense.  He would not prevent what needed to come.  Redd watched him go and relaxed some, now that her mother stood firm in her presence here.

Soon it would be settled.

If Lilia remained to challenge, Redd would stand behind Avicus, but the struggle would be between old and new.  Let her prove herself worthy of denying the prior Wealda her place.  If she went, then the pack would have no need for further conflict.

Either way, the pack would be parted, falling away under the natural struggles of a matriarch enforcing her rule and a young leader flexing her authority.  No pack could maintain two Wealda.

Redd chuffed quietly to Masque, offering her support in following Avicus back to the others waiting.  She had few doubts they would return soon.

Augur’s blooming howl made Masquerade cringe, flattening to the ground with a grunt of pain as their skull rang with the noise. They wanted to shake their head and refute Avicus’s subsequent suggestion. They weren’t going anywhere! But their head hurt too much to do anything else but grit their teeth, push upward and go wherever their mother and sister decided to lead them.