Redtail Rise power of the saber blade

Cambria didn’t possess many happy memories of his mother, though as his pale paws carried him westward along the foot of the rise, he caught himself thinking of a story she’d once told him about sirens. Despite his every effort to focus on the Redtails, he felt pulled to go find @Etienne at the gathering across the wilderness. Was Etienne a siren?

The thought twitched his lips into a smile. It was very possible the man would lead Cambria to ruin, he supposed, though not deliberately. He paused to lift his leg as he pondered whether Etienne might ever get over Anselm and consider him instead. He soon set his foot back on the ground, though his head floated away, full of daydreams about the other man.

He caught himself a while later—rather, a weasel scurried past him with a mouse in its jaws, causing the distracted Blod to freeze and bristle. His mismatched eyes tracked the smaller predator as it bounded away toward the plain, leaving a sheepish Cambria in its wake. He exhaled, then smoothed his proverbial petticoats and resumed a more diligent patrol.

being extremely vague! Also fine with this being a cameo

Since her defeat on the border, Redd had remained, her presence inevitable regardless of acceptance.  She had nowhere else she could go.  So she had holed up near the border and tucked herself aside.

The fight had left her weak and aggravated her leg once more.  She could not hunt.  It had also entirely doused whatever misguided ambition she’d had left.  Anger was gone, submerged in the flood of shame and self-recrimination that filled her being.  If she had been so easily displaced as Wealda then she had never truly held it.

Wealda was a truth, not a passing aspiration.  She had failed them, and it was this truth that hurt most of all.

She watched as the newcomer, Cambria, passed nearby.  Her ears pricked forward and tracked his progress but she did not rise to join him.

Nothing untoward happened as he plodded along the rise’s footprint. Nothing really happened at all. Eventually, Cambria rolled to a stop and took stock of his surroundings. It was very still and quiet, almost unnaturally so. He felt a little shiver travel up his spine. He couldn’t explain why he felt so uneasy all of a sudden.

Then his eyes locked on another pair, looking right at him. The yearling’s fur actually rippled, though he quickly recognized Redd. The apprehension persisted, though as he padded in her direction, Cambria didn’t think it had anything to do with her. Actually, he felt strangely comforted by her presence, even though he should’ve felt conflicted about it.

Redd, he greeted, pausing to look around almost suspiciously before his eyes cut back to her face. Where’s Ruckus? He would’ve asked that question in any situation, though Cambria felt compelled to add, I can’t explain it but something feels wrong.

Redd watched Cambria approach without comment and only lifted her head to gesture behind at his question.  Ruckus was a short distance away, sleeping, but in her presence as usual.

It was odd.  She understood how he felt and yet, starving and weak, she felt more at peace than she had in weeks.  Perhaps even months.  The misplaced anger towards the Rise had been a burden she’d carried unknowingly.  Guilt was easier.  She could not force them to see that she deserved respect when she did not, and now she saw with the same eyes they did. The comfort in not being alone now outweighed the shame of losing their trust.

Things are always wrong.  She answered, resting her head back on her paws.  It was not a reassurance but her tone was calm and unbothered.  She used to understand that there was much she could not control.  She did not know when she had forgotten.

He let out a little sigh of relief when he spotted Ruckus, safely tucked into a tussock of grass nearby. Cambria’s eyes flicked back to Redd’s face at her cryptic answer. He felt another little shudder trickling down his backbone like a cold drop of rainwater.

What do you mean? he asked, two-toned eyes assessing her as her head dropped back to her paws. Are you alright, Redd? he asked, doing his best to ignore the pertinacious tingle at the back of his neck.

She did not know how to explain in better words.  It was only a fact of life that things happened, many good and many bad.  And sometimes the bad were the things most needed to learn peace.  She would not have found this without pain.

She was not.  Though she had not gotten sick, the wounds Riley had torn in her had been neither cleaned nor treated.  Infection still riddled them, preventing healing and sapping her strength.  She did not remember what it was to not feel pain.

Instead of answering she attempted to stand.  Her legs barely pushed her from the ground before they buckled and she was back where she’d started.

She didn’t deign to answer him. Ordinarily, this would not have bothered him. Most of the Redtails were rather reticent. But that sense of foreboding pressed down him at the same time she attempted to stand. Cambria tried to sweep in and support her as soon as he saw her legs buckling.

Shit, he blurted. I know a healer. I could…

The yearling bit at his lip. Even if Etienne had been home at the creek, that was quite a trek from here. And he wasn’t even there right now, but somewhere west of the mountains. Cambria gazed that way for a beat, shoulder still pressing against Redd’s.

He’s too far away, he admitted, slumping down beside her.

If she couldn’t stand, then she certainly couldn’t walk, especially many miles through mountainous terrain. The Dragonling licked his lips, thinking. Did any of the Redtails know much about healing? He didn’t think so. Besides, wouldn’t they have already come to Redd’s aid if they intended to render it?

Maybe, he muttered, Ruckus and I could carry you.

Even as he said it aloud, Cambria realized it was probably a ridiculous suggestion. He sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled. His own knowledge was rather limited. He could offer food, he thought as his eyes flicked over her diminished figure, but he wasn’t sure what else she might need.

What do you need, Redd?

His presence and warmth were welcome.  She leaned into it companionably, but didn’t immediately answer.  This seemed to be fine as he worked through a number of statements in succession.

What did she need?

Redd automatically looked at Ruckus.  If it were not for them she might have resigned herself.  She did not know if the Rise would help her.  She had isolated herself before they’d gotten the chance, sensing danger to them in her condition, and now was perhaps no longer one of them.  She had no claim to their loyalty.  But because Ruckus needed her she could not simply perish here alone.

Food.  she answered finally, quietly.  For them, first. She had no claim from him either.  Cambria was not her mate, nor had she found herself wanting another since Gavrel.  He seemed interested in the pup’s well being, though, and this reassured her to some extent.  If something happened to her then, at least here, Ruckus would not starve.  She had known she was right to return.

Them? he repeated back. Who?

He realized she was looking at the sleeping Ruckus. As soon as the dots connected, he pushed back onto all fours. Nobody had to ask Cambria twice to help out the kid, even though he was well aware Ruckus couldn’t stand him.

I’ll be right back, Cambria said even as he pivoted and disappeared into the foothills.

His uneasiness followed him like a shadow as he went straight to the nearest cache. He found only scraps there. Cambria blinked, frustration stiffening his jaw. He swiftly moved on to another store, where he found a caribou shin. The meat was aged, to say the least, but it would serve.

Should be enough here for both of you. Try not to eat too quickly, Cambria advised, placing the meaty bone at Redd’s feet, or it might come back up again.

He retreated a few yards, glancing at Ruckus. Should he wake him? He waited for some cue from Redd on that, all the while shooting nervous glances at the rise. Cambria couldn’t make heads or tails of the trepidation that now felt like a vise squeezing his chest.

This isn’t right, he blurted after a moment. They’re your family. They shouldn’t have left you—and Ruckus—for dead just because… Cambria took a breath. Where is everyone, anyhow?

Redd waited patiently.  It had been so long since she hadn’t been hungry that she sometimes could forget.  Looking at the food he brought back did not even spur an appetite at first.  Not until she had started, but she still ate slowly to avoid any waste.  Ruckus could eat when they awoke.

They have their own.  She stated dispassionately, pausing to allow what she’d eaten already to settle.  Redd did not think they deserved condemnation for that.  She had been apart from the pack for a while and did not know what now went on within its borders.  If there was not enough food, not enough hunters, then choices needed to be made.  The hunt lead could not prioritize others over his own children, regardless of the past.

When Wealda died, she never came back.  I tried to be her.  She didn’t know why she felt compelled to repeat these things.  Or to continue.  Perhaps to explain the ways in which the Rise could be both broken and whole.  I was not.  It was always impossible.  No one is.

She did not want Mulhedrin to make her mistakes but he had the right to them.  Perhaps he would remake Wealda into something new.  Perhaps he would learn, as she did, that it was an impossible shadow to fill.  Whatever his outcome, she no longer blamed him.  He only sought to do what was best for the Rise in the same way that she always had.

It took a moment for her words to land, though when they did, they chilled his blood. How could a family turn its back on one of its own in need? Two, Cambria inwardly corrected, glancing at Ruckus, and one of them a child…

Now the fur on the back of his neck stood on end for another reason. He thought about his mother turning her back on him one day, walking out of his life like he was nothing. But at least she had set him up for success. She hadn’t left him broken, injured and starving to death.

Before the Dragonling could think of anything to say, Redd broke the silence again. By now, he was well aware that Wealda was a title, first worn by their dead mother. He had picked up on quite a bit of Redtail lore in his months here, gleaning from even those who didn’t speak the reverence they held for the original ruler.

That’s some shit, the yearling said eloquently.

He said nothing more for a time, lapsing into thought as he continued grappling with the subsuming sense of dread. Was he simply waking up to the reality, he wondered? Cambria had known from the start that Redtail Rise was fraught. But watching Mulherin and Redd fight so violently over a title that apparently no one could ever truly hold and then witnessing the loser’s fate, well…

What the fuck, was the only other thing he could think to mutter.

After a few more minutes, though, Cambria finally gathered enough wits to ask, Now that you’ve had something to eat, do you think you could stand? Maybe walk?

Her ear flicked with surprised at his statement but she did not respond.  She could not understand his meaning.  It was the way they all lived, and it was how things always had been. A different place would not have been the Rise or home.  Their history had built them.  Perhaps it also destroyed them.

Soon.  Redd did not want to push herself now unless it was necessary.  After she’d cleaned her muzzle, however, she gave his shoulder a nudge of thanks.  He had not needed to help them, nor stay and speak with her.

She would wait and allow this to digest, hopefully bringing her strength.  If she could manage to scavenge something of her own, regain enough to hunt, then it would be two feeding Ruckus.  With even that much relief maybe she could recover enough to travel and seek this healer.

How soon? he wanted to ask, though he knew Redd couldn’t know the answer to that. He blew out a breath, shifting his weight and looking heavily at the rise.

I want to take you to my friend, Cambria said, folding down beside her again, that healer I mentioned. He’s at that big hunt, if you’ve heard about it. Actually, he realized aloud, he mentioned other healers too. It’s far away but if you think you could make it there with my help, you’d be way better off there than here. I’m sure there’s plenty of food to go around as well.

Just thinking about going to Etienne loosened the knot in Cambria’s chest some. It’s a good plan, he thought to himself, if only she has the strength. Ruckus too, his inner voice murmured as his eyes wandered to the snoozing pup.

Thoughts? he meant to ask her but what came out instead was, There’s nothing left for you here, and he could not say whether he was talking to Redd or maybe even himself.

It was a fine plan.  She did not mind a trip to meet these healers once she knew she could effectively both travel and defend herself should need arise.  Leaving the pack while vulnerable was a risk.  And while her standing was unknown, and her presence maybe even unwanted by some, she still felt safer here than anywhere else.

This was why she drew back when Cambria spoke this last statement, her gaze piercing.  Everything is here.  She replied, her conviction unable to see how he could think otherwise.  Everything and everyone she loved remained on this Rise.  It was her home, her family’s home, and the pack of her heart.  All other places were empty.

Everything and anything could change.  Until it did she had nowhere else.

She refuted him. Cambria looked into her face for a long moment, wondering what “everything” was to her. Perhaps she meant Ruckus or maybe the land itself. Maybe she even referred to the wolves who peopled the rise, even though it was clear to him that they didn’t return that dedication.

I think I might’ve been talking to myself, he nearly confessed, though he pressed his lips together before the words slipped free. Perhaps now was not the time to add his own cryptic comments to the situation. Redd had enough on her plate without adding Cambria’s shaky feelings to it.

What is everything, he decided to go ahead and ask instead, to you?

There was the legacy too, he supposed. Maybe no matter how futile it was trying to step into the former Wealda’s shoes, it was equally impossible not to try. Perhaps Redd might even choose death over leaving Redtail Rise, which was a sobering thought that put the stitch right back in the Dragonling’s chest.

Pack.  It was one of the easiest questions he could ask.  In all of the years of her life the answer had never changed.  There was nothing she would not do to see her pack thrive.  And there was nothing she would not sacrifice on their behalf.  

I thought we needed Wealda.  But I needed them.  She laid her head down again, staring out at the Rise in front of her.  Leaving had always been a mistake, but she’d thought sacrificing her happiness and place among them worth it to ensure peace.  She could not take any of the faulty decisions that had led her here back.

She could only wait.  Belonging was not hers to demand.  It was theirs to offer, and Redd would have her answer when she was strong enough to ask.  Until then she was no one’s responsibility but her own.

He had his answer. Cambria didn’t like it. He didn’t much like what she said after that, either. It reminded him of a saying he’d once heard: “for the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.”

Does this mean you won’t want to go with me? he questioned. He kept his tone neutral, though Cambria couldn’t resist adding, You can always come back when you’re on the mend. We can, I mean. But I still think they could help you better than…

He gestured. Nobody was helping Redd here, not really, and he felt indignation wash through him. He didn’t understand them, any of them, Redd included.

He was impatient.  She wondered what it was that made him care so much.  It was her own life at risk, not his, and her peace in this seemed to upset him.  It was another in a long list of moments showing how differently others sometimes went through the world.  She was not him and therefore not meant to understand it all.

When I can.  She said without looking at him, though her tail flicked behind her.  If you leave before, then I will find another way.  And she would understand.  If he saw no value in this place now then he had to seek his own path.  She did not know how loyal he was after these last few weeks.  He did not know it the way she did.

His pale shoulders sagged with unspoken relief when she said she would go with him when she could. Cambria nodded, though he realized she wasn’t looking at him. His lips parted to speak when her voice cut across him, furrowing his brow.

It would be kind of pointless to leave without you, he pointed out lightly. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t opposed to going for help, he added, when you’re up for it.

He went quiet then. Cambria wondered if maybe she’d cottoned on to the true nature of his comment a moment ago. He had a lot of misgivings about this place, especially lately, and perhaps he was looking for an excuse to go see Etienne. But he wasn’t just going to run off for the horizon without her.

He blew out another breath, prepared to wait. The yearling then shifted to his own spot, so that he, Redd and Ruckus formed the points of a triangle. He hoped Ruckus would wake soon to eat and that Redd would take this opportunity to rest while he kept an eye on them.

Meanwhile, he ignored both Etienne’s siren song drifting from the mountains and the ominous cloud forming directly overhead.