Nova Peak lenore

wolves, scattered to the winds.

Avicus has always been an agent of chaos, but she feels it most keenly now. sitting near the apex of what @Masquerade is calling Dragon's Back Ridge, she looks upon the sloping expanse of the Rise, a statue in her stillness as the sun begins to set.

home. hers. theirs—but hers, she thinks, above all.

she'd never known the true depths of her selfishness until Lilia had dared to call her out and stand her down.

the die is cast. they will leave, or they will face her wrath.

and Augur and his family. . .

her mouth twitches, tugging downward into a frown. her one regret these past days—losing his respect. but how could she not have reacted? he chose neutrality when he should have been in her corner. she may have lost his respect, and trust, but so had he lost hers.

@Carrion and @Redsky had chosen to stay put. no mistaking their divided loyalties; understandable. but @Redd, and @Wanderer and @Mulherin—they, along with Masque, will stand beside her. she does not doubt it for a second.

and the man @Riley? what of him?

an icy wind pummels her, interrupts her thoughts; she shivers and hunches her shoulders, russet fur fluffed out to guard against the cold. winter is coming, and times will grow tough. to sacrifice hunters and warriors in this endeavor is pure, unfettered vanity—

but what else can one expect from a woman born to believe she owns the world?

tags for reference - feel free to join but not obligated! set maybe half a day after Masquerade and Ancelin talk

Although their headache mercifully passed, Masquerade refused to leave the rise this time. They followed Avicus as far as the grotto, then told her they wanted to be alone, their voice gruffer than usual. They peeled off to lurk along the borders, processing their feelings by murdering several small animals.

They tried to track down Carrion and Sky to offer them their slew of kills. The yearling then carried a lean rabbit toward Nova Peak after all, intending it for Redd. Before they could find her, they spotted Avicus seated on a bluff above, the setting sun and wind making her look as though she had burst into flickering flame.

Jaw still clenched around their kill, they climbed to join her on the overlook. Masquerade set the carcass at their feet, setting a paw on top of it as they followed their mother’s gaze to the neighboring rise.

Being a leader doesn’t come to me naturally like it does to you and the others, they said, marigold eyes cutting back to Avicus’s face, but name me your heir and let me step up. I will train with you, Augur and the rest of the pack to become worthy of the title of Wealda one day. The leadership needs someone like me. A caretaker. A diplomat. They let out a breath. A peacekeeper.

Redd would arrive in time to hear most of these words.

Prior to her absence, they would have ignited the promise of a rivalry.  As fond as she was of Masquerade, she’d felt the promise of a future where the pack’s peace was hers to ensure - and its future hers to defend.  Even still, she felt the small curlings of a long-held, quiet ambition… but it was a dying ember, quick to expire.  She had no claim to it now.  Masquerade was worthy.

Quietly she moved up alongside, neutral and attentive, but adding nothing to the conversation but her contemplation.  She would do as she had always done; fill the spaces that needed filled and serve loyally those who commanded the respect of the whole.

She needed no more than that.

Masquerade appears, fresh kill in tow. her eyes flicker briefly to the rabbit before returning to her daughter as she begins to speak.

the young woman fascinates Avicus. if she is hubris gone unchecked, then Masquerade is on the opposite side of the coin with boundless humility. "leadership doesn't come naturally to me"—but it does, it does, and Avicus hopes Masque can see that before it gets the better of her. before someone uses it against her, to their advantage.

hell, Ancelin had already tried.

yeh', she says, with a brusque nod. you de'herve ih'.

she mentions training under Augur, too, and at this, Avicus sighs deep enough that she feels the stirring in her toes. i dunno if Augur will come back, she muses. if no', you are Ulfhedinn.

perhaps even if so. paranoia, already lurking within her since the day she was born, has slowly started to snake its dark, cold tendrils 'round her heart.

she needs a deputy she can trust. can she trust Augur, after all that's transpired?

she notes Redd's arrival with another nod and dips her head toward the rabbit at Masque's paws. for you—or so she supposes.

Redd appeared and Masquerade’s tail twitched. Despite the important conversation at hand, they took a moment to remove their paw from the rabbit and nudge it toward their sister with an unspoken, This is for you.

Raising their head, they took a few more steadying breaths as Avicus said her piece. Her immediate agreement meant a great deal to them, though it was soured by fatigue over the past several days’ events.

No, they countered gently, as Caru. I will talk to Augur, as my first act as this pack’s conciliator. He should stay as Ulfhedinn. He and his family are assets to the rise. And I have much to learn from him, just like I have much to learn from you.

And they could’ve learned from Lilia too. But as they recollected their conversation with Ancelin—not to mention Avicus’s own with the Berserkr, kicking off this entire thing—they knew there was little hope for that. Their jaw clenched with quiet, simmering anger.

I can try to reason with Ancelin and Lilia again, they said despite this, already testing their mettle as arbitrator, and if they still won’t go, we can remove them by force.

Redd stepped forward to take the offering and, while doing so, gave her sibling a small nudge beneath the chin.  Her encouragement might not be outspoken, but she wished it known that she supported this shift as well.  Even as Masquerade spoke further, Redd had no qualms, and settled to eat and listen as the two discussed.

Until the subject shifted to more peaceful talk.

Here she had an opinion, and growled lightly, leaving the prey momentarily to stand and look between the two of them intently.  No.  Masquerade had already risked health and injury to do this before.  Repetition would bring nothing but the same.

Wealda is questioned.  Wealda must answer.  Redd’s voice was intent, and she looked to Avicus before lowering her head.  In the end they would do as they wished, but she knew this singular truth; the pack would have no leader who was not proven.  She had thought Lilia would understand this, when Redd had allowed worthiness to override blood and submitted as Berserker.  Apparently the lesson was not one all recognized.

But she did.  It was why, although another rank would likely soon need filled, she would remain silent on the matter.  Wealda might lead the pack… but the pack chose Wealda.

her brows arch briefly at Masque's 'no,' but any surprised affront is both minimal and fleeting. if Masquerade wishes for Caru, then so be it. then perhaps Redd. . .

while she's contemplating her other elder daughter, said other elder daughter speaks, rebutting Masque's idea to talk peace with Lilia and Ancelin. they were on the same page, there.

Redd ih' righ', Avicus replies. 'hey will no' 'halk. ih' muh' be me.

but Augur. . . there was a thought. after all, Augur is who she had wanted Masquerade to parley with in the first place. Augur still may have sense left in him.

if 'hey're no' gone in 'hree dayh', i will go an' make 'em, she decides, gritting her teeth. or die trying.

When Redd growled, Masquerade’s head canted, their fur rippling reflexively. They were curious which part of their dialogue prompted this reaction, though as soon as their litter mate spoke, their pelt smoothed. Their lips parted, though before they could say anything further, Avicus cut in to concur with Redd’s assessment.

Their jaw set. They wanted to prove that Caru belonged in leadership, that the role carried so much more merit and value than the rise had ever given it before. But Masque was tired. They didn’t want to fight with anyone else, least of all their mother and sister.

Masque dipped their head, sighing through their nose. Ancelin and Lilia hadn’t listened to either one of them, though perhaps they would heed Augur. Although their cousin’s behavior still rankled them, Masquerade still firmly believed their voluntary departure was the best possible outcome for everyone, most of all Ancelin and Lilia themselves.

I’m tired, they admitted in the next moment, but I would like to speak to Augur sooner than later, meaning Masque did not intend to put off their own parley for three whole days.

They shook out their coat and looked around. Masquerade realized that, more than anything in the world, they wanted to find Mulherin and curl up with him. It would have to wait, though. Once it was all said and done, then the Caru could gather all their siblings in one place again and finally get some rest.

It was gratifying when Avicus agreed.  This situation had started when Augur had wrongfully interfered, and more wrongful interference would not resolve a power struggle bound to boil over.  Lilia did not hold Wealda but clearly coveted it; if she would submit to none, then she needed to claim the rank and defend it. 

Masquerade did not argue further, and Redd settled herself back down from where she'd stood.  Her thoughts were known now, but what happened next she would have little part in.  Masquerade would meet with Augur, Avicus with Lilia and Ancelin, and in the end the Rise would be claimed once more.

Pragmatically, Redd saw little to regret in all that was happening.  Even with the inevitable parting with her cousin that was likely to come, she held him no ill will; it was natural for him to support his mate, for them to seek to rise higher than this place would allow.  Just as it was natural for Avicus, mother to all, to refuse to step aside while in her prime.

Nature was not often kind.  It looked after those who respected its many faces.

Three days.  It was a long time to wait, but she knew it would pass quickly.  With no revelations of her own, she lapsed back into silence.

i'm tired.

she feels that statement, and the weariness beneath it, deep in her bones. but she nods at Masque's intention to speak to Augur; she will be better received than the erstwhile leader of the Rise.

'hhleep, Avicus says to both daughters. she intends to do the same. we will be here. an' waihh'.

she nudges whatever is left from the kill toward Redd and gives her savage daughter a nuzzle. to Masquerade, the same.

with a little less weight upon her shoulders—though only a small amount—she meanders, looking for a suitable place to rest her head. eventually, she seeks somewhere close to her younger children.

there's a lot of ground to cover and bridges to build to reach them, and she knows it.

exit me