Noctisardor Bypass got a girl whose up for the mating

AW, kept vague on who is with val <3
thinking possibly loose rounds, no post order, unless things get conflicty? <3

val found that being on the road was stepping into an old skin; one he'd thought he shed a long time ago.

@Suzu lead the way. val took the time to show @Thibault some of the knowledge he'd learned on his own so long ago -- he pointed to the great spires to the south, he told the boy of the sunken valleys to the east; motioning to where blades of grass were disturbed by the heavy trample of elk bands, or trees stripped of their bark from their teeth.

eventually they came to a raised corridor of stone. val apprised it with a flick of his gaze. it looked grim, almost more like doors to keep those within than intimidate those without.

glancing to suzu, he gave her an encouraging brush of his shoulder and then howled for those of rivenwood -- but most of all, for @Etienne.

More travel- it was like something straight from her nightmares. Exercise, low-calorie forest food, a wet, mossy scent to the air- could it possibly be any worse? Her lungs burned with the heaving breaths she took to keep up the pace they set, eager to reach Rivenwood before any more harm could come to her brother.

She could only hope that when they reached the place, he had already left- so that they could deal with Glaukos on their own. It would not be something that Etienne would want to see.

She hoped, too, to see Heda- to sweep her out from beneath the unlikeable man, to bring her back to her island or better yet- back to Sapphique.

Etienne heard the call for him. In a voice he hadn't heard in a long time. His uncle Val. He shifted. HE hadn't known the man well. Why was he calling him? Had Suzu brought the queens here? Was this her doing?

He shifted and though he was unsure. HE followed the sound and lifted his head when he saw both of them. Rushing to press a hurried hug and kiss to his sister's cheek. A small smile to Val.

Ello.

Anselm’s head jerked up as a howl for Etienne flooded the woodland, sending ptarmigan flapping. He moved at a steady clip towards the bypass’ entrance; who would call on Etienne, what was their business with the healer?

Not all of Anselm’s reasons for being protective of Etienne were altruistic. He prepared on the off chance it was Glaukos come to exact his revenge — but instead, it was Suzu and a collection of wolves he did not recognize.

Anselm stepped wordlessly to Etienne’s side, cool gaze sweeping the collection of salt-bathed wolves.

He'd never been this far from home. Why were things so...different? For that matter, why did the spires feel as though they were attacking him? No matter how far they went, somewhere, they were there. Somehow, Thibault had been blissfully oblivious to them. He liked home, where the waves were the only dreadful thing he knew, and cousin Chani could fight off them loa's. Here, whatever gods and beasts walked the earth had no wave to hide under. Somehow, it was scarier. Or maybe it wasn't. He couldn't tell. The fact that he himself had no wave to crash into when the world itself seemed to fall a little bit harder in some nights. At the very least, père kept him busy with many stories. It distracted only little from the fact that cousin Suzu was wheezing like a beached whale. Sometimes, he breathed a bit harder just to make her feel less poor about her upset lungs- his own weren't in much better condition.

When the borders were met, he was only stopped by Val's halting step. "Dis be it?" he asked. "Il fait sombre ici." It, it would be. Dad called out to name he didn't know. He was more surprised to see not one, but two approach, and then for this strange man to touch his cousin Suzu. What was he doing? Touching her? Kissing her? Thibault was so stunned that he only looked to Val. Though outwardly calm and still, Thibault was debating the odds of him critically injuring Suzu's... disrespect-er!

ty everyone for joining <3 going to do round two, no post order? i'll leave it vague in case others still want to pop in!

they stood tentatively at the grim mouth of noctisydor; val realized suddenly he'd been here before.

suzu caught her breath. thibault looked out of place and perhaps bewildered. val was about to give him a word of encouragement when he saw etienne, mercifully unharmed so far as he could tell. eti, val breathed with a wave of his tail as the boy, now a man, swept towards his sister in an embrace.

he caught thibault's look of consternation and reassured him under his breath: that is your cousin, thibault. etienne. val allowed suzu and etienne their greeting before he came closer, worried gaze raking across etienne's fur for any sign of malnourishment, abuse, or disabuse.

the male to etienne's side was given a precusory glance - something about the stranger caused ripples of unease in him. it was then val connected the history of this place -- all from the coldness of anselm's yellow eye.

could this be glaukos? etienne, val began, cautious in case this was the very man they intended to rescue etienne from. who is your friend?

Eti still held some bruised ribs, but only in moments of great physical prowess did they hurt. And let us be frank he was in shape, but not a physical sort of man.

He briefly pressed a shoulder to Anselm, but continued his greeting of siblings. He didn't recognize the boy with him, but assumed it was one of aunties brood.


Etienne's ears tilted towards his uncle. And he looked over Anselm.

Dis be Anselm Sonnenwasser.

Anselm you know Suzu. Dis be my Uncle Val and I tink one of aunties children?

He looked to Val for Confirmation and name.

Suzu anticipated the worst- that Glaukos might hear Valravn’s howl and come to defend his territory, or that they might learn that something worse had become of her brother. She remained still and quiet, so that Thibault might not be worried. He was young, still- but not a whole lot younger than how old Suzu had been when the bear had attacked.

She didn’t want him to witness that kind of tragedy; she prayed that her grandmothers would keep them safe. 

She signed with relief when she saw Etienne, and embraced him as she always did, finally allowing herself to abandon one of the worst-case scenarios. 

Anselm came too- and she was, surprisingly, pleased to see him. She had no doubts that he had been looking out for Etienne. 

”We came for you, Eti- an you as well, Anselm. Heda too, if she will come; Glaukos can not stop us all,” She announced, peering past into Ruvenwood as if expecting the mountain to appear through the trees.

there were wolves in the bypass. their voices were musical and familiar. heda looked up with a frown.
she had been gathering herbs, those she knew; now she let them fall into mingled, unremarkable piles, and strode toward the howlings, the sound. 
ah!
"suzu?" her voice asked tentatively; she came forward and looked at the grown-girl, sparing anselm a glance as well. "suzu, it's heda."
relief welled through her like a lance. the den mother glanced around at somber faces and realized they were not here to visit;
her eyes asked for an explanation. but did she already know?

Anselm stiffened under the gaze of the dark male. Reading the room, he understood this to be Etienne’s family. It was a far cry from the Amazonian femme fatale warriors he expected, but nothing about this party suggested weakness either. Etienne introduced him, and Anselm felt a trickle of something — satisfaction, maybe — to hear his full name borne in the lyrical tongue of the seaborn. 

Suzu spoke. Anselm could not help the disbelieving sweep of his ears. If this was their rescue party, he was slightly disappointed. He was about to speak when Heda came; another shock to him was that she seemed to know Suzu and the others. 

Anselm remained silent, finding himself studying the one who had yet to speak - the boy at Val’s side.

It was time to slaughter a man. Thibault had heard bad things about outsider boys. Their gruesome teeth and need for power, and how they believed themselves in any way above women. A hierarchy that he knew went against their nature, and now a man was touching his cousin Suzu? With not a scratch to his name, he knew he had to defend his family. A puffed out chest coupled with his beady baby eyes, and then-- 'That is your cousin, Thibault.'

Suzu..

Oh.

A deflating chest and paws that felt much smaller suddenly, he blinked and then gave a firm, understanding nod. Then, back to his dad, where he looked for all the answers that had already been given. Still a son, no matter how big he grew. It was then that he felt.. eyes upon him, and when he looked up again, it was with a blank stare at.. Anselm Sonnenwasser. Val's boy studied twice as hard. Empty minded again. "Bonjour."

yes. val confirmed for Etienne, giving thibault a gentle nudge. this is thibault. faces began to pile in; val kept his gaze trained on the newer male flanking etienne. he wasn’t sure what to make of the man, but somehow expected glaukos to be much more menacing.

etienne introduced the stranger, and val’s pose relaxed slightly as he realized this wasn’t the seaborn’s captor. as suzu launched into explanation, val nudged thibault reassuringly, noting that the aforementioned anselm had been looking pointedly at the boy.

he squared his shoulders and looked then between etienne, suzu, and the new woman who’d arrived — who just introduced herself as heda.

were they safe?

Etienne sighed and rubbed a paw across his muzzle. A sharp pain beginning behind his eyes. Dis was all so very much in such a short time. It was beginng to affect him in a big way.

Glaukos left for now. 'E be 'urtin' Druid w'ich 'er be 'edas sister. Dey used to live on dey island uncle.

A shifting of his paws. We don't be knowin' 'e be comin' back. Druid not 'ealthy enuff to go anyw'ere

She pulled away from Etienne when a soft voice spoke her name. She glanced first to Anselm- for no reason in particular, he simply happened to be in her line of sight- and then she picked out the approaching form of Heda. 

She didn’t think of the animosity with which Anselm had spoken when he’d said her name. At the sight of the woman, though, she forgot the boy’s misgivings- and trotted for the woman, tail waving and head low, a soft whine of recognition slipping from her throat. 

Heda did not look the same; the windswept look was replaced by weariness. Suzu grumbled an affectionate greeting, relieved to see at least that the kind woman was still alive. ”We are here,” She uttered to her, reassuringly. Whatever it was that she suffered, Suzu wanted to put an end to it.

The fact that Glaukos had left did not reassure her- and it seemed that they might not be capable of moving for some time due to Druid’s condition. Her eyes flashed to learn that Glaukos had injured Druid too. 

”Dat bastard!” She hissed. She tried to calm herself- knowing Etienne might feel her feelings as well, but amplified. She looked to Valravn, to Thibault. ”We can’t leave dem like dis, if ‘e comes back…” She trailed off, and then set her jaw. ”If ‘e comes back, ‘e needs to be chased off so dat ‘e never comes back again.” She said, and looked to Etienne- and then to Anselm. ”I will stay wid you, if dat would help.”

they had come for etienne, who had been hurt by glaukos. shame burned through heda; she didn't look at anselm, only found herself staring a little at thibault. then etienne, the man val, suzu, anselm; 
"he's gone, really, but," and she took a breath, "if you think it's best to stay, suzu, i understand. we've been pretty — it's changed a lot."
"and the rest of you are welcome to stay, too. even if it's just to rest. i think we'd all welcome that."
diplomacy. kindness. she weighted them upon her shame and looked again to each face.

For a moment the boy met Anselm’s gaze and spoke — the word was alien to Anselm, but he understood the meaning. He gave a stern dip of his head in acknowledgement, but continued his silence. He was simply the observer in this — a small, insecure voice in him wondered if this was the hour in which Etienne’s family took the seaborn away from him. 

Discomforted by this notion Anselm looked back to Suzu, then Heda. He ignored the dark pelted man — if only because something needled him each time he looked at Val. 

Heda shared the news Glaukos was gone. In his heart, Anselm refused to believe it. That brute would return when it was convenient for him — probably after he and Etienne did the work of raising his children. It wasn’t a charitable thought, but when was Anselm known to be charitable?

He glanced to Etienne to measure the man’s reaction to Suzu’s offer. Anselm preferred this over the latter option, noticing Heda extended a graceful offer that was far more palatable than packing up to leave. When it came to it, could he choose Etienne over the woman that bore his children?

His heart knew the answer, and it made his soul run cold.

this glaukos fellow had run ins with everyone, it seemed. val frowned as he learned the news the man had also hurt someone else; the woman's sister, apparently.

he was grateful this kind of hardship did not happen in sapphique. he supposed, in his own secretly elitist way, that the wolves of the coast were simply of a different nature. a more placid and agreeable type. he'd certain run into his own horrors exploring the mainland -- it would have horrified him even further to learn this man was once with the bearcult.

suzu offered to stay after etienne's explanation. val looked at the two of them for a long time. he disliked the idea of suzu staying here by herself -- but thibault could not travel alone. he was certain she'd be in good company, particularly since the woman known as heda offered them all to stay. val dipped his head gratefully, but did not yet respond to her kindness.

suzu, val motioned the fish-trapper close, concern etched in his green eyes. you come back in one piece, you hear? you too, etienne. he wished the boy would just quit these muddied waters, and return to the shore where he belonged.

thank you heda, but we have a long return home, and several young needing our help. you will be in good hands with suzu.

Anselm’s immediate reaction was to worry for the health of their caches if Suzu stayed in Rivenwood. On this matter he remained mum, but he couldn’t help the way his eyes flickered. 

He wasn’t sorry to hear the remaining Sapphique wolves would not be staying. Rivenwood wasn’t Chateau du Wolf; they didn’t have infinite stores to support more mouths, despite Heda’s generosity. 

He kept his gaze firmly ahead, on the topic of Heda. There were a lot of things on his mind as of late, including the occasional memory of — well, them. 

With all the additional mouths to feed, Anselm’s charity was at an all time low. He looked to Val and Thibault pointedly, expecting them to announce their leave. He’d feel better once they were gone, though he wouldn’t begrudge Etienne his time to catch up with his family.

just going to tack on a conclusion, feel free to PM me if any assumptions weren't ok <3

it was decided, then. suzu would stay. val hugged her tight and stepped away. he gave thibault time to say his goodbyes and have a brief chat with etienne -- all the while, aware that the silent guardsman had his eye upon them.

he briefly conversed with heda while the party prepared its leave. while he was relieved the man they'd came for was gone, he wasn't certain he'd stay gone for good. with suzu staying, their odds of chasing the man back was strong.

val reminded himself that sapphique had seen worse; sapphique's crucible had been the fury of the bear. surely a man was simple to drive off, after such encounters.

he said one last farewell, gathering thibault and the thin rabbit that had been generously offered from their caches. then, he and his charge bid for home.

it would be a long journey ahead of them, but val would be glad to see the shores of his home again.