Larksong Grotto Hear my words and bear witness to my vow.
bury all your secrets in my skin
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#1
All Welcome 
He had envisioned somewhere to begin: a quiet place, secluded and sheltered, far enough away from Rusalka that they wouldn't even take notice of a group plotting to bring them to their knees. Dacio didn't know where he would find this land, but he trusted his gut - he'd simply know, he was sure, when he laid eyes upon it.

The grotto welcomed him with open arms that night, embracing him with a comforting darkness as he stepped between its lush foliage. He branched off wordlessly from @Opalia, ventured from her side to trail along the forest's edge and begin marking what would be their base. Along each tree trunk he slithered, leaving behind the musk of his furs, and at times he cocked a hind limb to deposit a stronger scent.

With an arched tail and tall ears, the young Drakru moved further inland in earch of any potential inhabitants to either drive out or recruit for his cause.
"Trigedasleng" "common"
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#2
They would be neighbors, it seemed.

Dacio didn't seem keen on joining her merry band, which was fine.  She did not need any dissidents who couldn't handle following, and he and his sister both smelled a bit like trouble.  They had been Kru once but they were not family anymore; Kiwi had left them all behind.

She was interested to know what he thought of their operations being so close for a while, though, so she stalked down from her (current) mountain to greet him.

So this is where you're staying? She asked, looking over the forest.  If she'd noticed it before the mountain, she might have made a bid for it... but now she was a little glad to have the choice of the higher ground.
Kiwi will internalize lies and twist things to her benefit until this becomes her reality.  Her thoughts are not my own <3
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#3
He was surprised to see Kiwi slink between the trees toward him, but it didn't show. Dacio paused to regard her approach with a curious twitch of a whisker. "Sha," the peppered yearling answered, lifting his gaze to blink past her for any sign of company on her part. No one materialised through the darkness to stand alongside her.

His tail-tip gave a thoughtful twitch as he wondered what brought her to turf he'd decided to claim, and a prickle of concern that she might seek to take it first caused a ripple of frustration to tighten a muscle of his jaw. Kiwi had already attempted to make the cliffs her own, the very territory he wished to free from outsiders' rule, but he was reluctant to voice his asumptions. While one could never follow the other, the young Drakru did think they could be of use to each other.

And when the time came that Dragoncrest's threat was eliminated, then they could figure out who might be fit to rule their birthright. He'd certainly challenge her for the title if he had to.

"You're not far from here, then?" Dacio asked with a cant of a raven lobe.

"Trigedasleng" "common"
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#4
It didn't even occur to Kiwi to worry about Dacio's intentions on the cliffs.  After all - he was Portia's child.  As such, he was as inconsequential there as both his mother and father had been.  She was the daughter of Heda, and likely the concept wouldn't occur to her until his challenge came.

The mountain. She replied, and had a moment to be proud that she'd been the first to note that they were neighbors.  She'd always been obsessive, even in the Firebirds, of tracking who and what moved around her claim.  Here it wouldn't be any different.

So just stay off it and I'll leave your forest alone, she added, looking around him at the place.  If he wanted it, she wasn't about to make a grab for it after.  She'd already started staking a place for herself anyway, and was convinced that trying to climb the slopes would make them stronger and better than their coastal rivals.
Kiwi will internalize lies and twist things to her benefit until this becomes her reality.  Her thoughts are not my own <3
bury all your secrets in my skin
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#5
They held a similar goal, so Dacio scrutinised the lithe yearling carefully as he wondered what made her think she ws so damn entitled; he was not to know that she still thought of herself as daughter of Thuringwethil. He failed to consider whatever "right" she felt she had which, let's face it, no Drageda offspring was entitled to considering there had been no Fos Goufa born throughout its claim. Dacio's intention was merely to adopt the role of commander until a genuine Heda could come to rule, as Blixen had before him.

Kiwi mentioned her claim on the mountain, one he'd seem loom over his grotto on the approach, and he frowned thoughtfully at her as she made demand that he stay away. Rusalka had made their home directly up Drageda's asshole, so he felt some unease at the possibility of lingering so close to another's territory. It would be good to keep Kiwi and her group close, however, should they have need of one another in the forseeable future.

He dipped his muzzle in agreement. "Very well," he told her gruffly, and fell silent once more. Could he trust her to keep her word? Dacio'd always kept his, but he didn't know Kiwi and barely remembered their childhood - how was he to believe a deserter would maintain her promise? "Have you reached the top yet?" Dacio asked of her, casting his troubled thoughts of hierarchy aside for the time being in favour of peering up through the forest's canopy to catch a glimpse of the mountain's snow-capped peak in attempt at lighter conversation.

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#6
Good.  She'd still keep an eye out, but the less she had to worry about them, the better.  It was really their loss, choosing to do their own thing versus joining hers.

No, but I will soon. She glanced up.  I have to make sure nothing lives anywhere on it first, at least anything dangerous.  And we'll have to chase out anything we do find. She smiled in anticipation at that.  Chase out or kill, either was fun.  It would be a good chance to train Yami too, since she said she didn't know much about fighting.
Kiwi will internalize lies and twist things to her benefit until this becomes her reality.  Her thoughts are not my own <3
bury all your secrets in my skin
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#7
He smiled, perhaps for the first real time since Drageda's downfall, a corner of his mouth upturned to form something of a smirk. Kiwi was bold and sharp-tongued, maybe even outright obnoxious, but Dacio quietly admired her presumptuousness - perhaps because confidence in oneself was something he'd never truly been able to source.

"Maybe I can help you move them on," Dacio suggested with a roll of his shoulder, as though it was no big deal to him if she refused. In another time, the idea of companionship with natrona would've appalled him, but the last thing he wanted was to make an enemy of Kiwi if he hoped to have her assist in the removal of Rusalka.

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#8
On one hand, she did not want him within her claim if he had declined her leadership.  With that was the idea that they did not need help, they had enough with their own.  But Kiwi nodded.  Maybe.  She still stood behind her idea that alliances were worthless, but that was in times of peace.  Currently she saw use in keeping a friendship between them, so allowing him and his to help roust a threat was small payment.

The glade had none when we claimed it.  I imagine your forest would be similar, she added.  It certainly looked similar; plentiful enough in prey, but tame.
Kiwi will internalize lies and twist things to her benefit until this becomes her reality.  Her thoughts are not my own <3
bury all your secrets in my skin
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#9
She made reference to "the glade", which meant nothing to him. Dacio felt it was an easy guess that this must have been where she,  Sequoia and Wildfire settled after turning their tails on Drageda. He remained silent on the matter, however; while Kiwi was Natrona, the young Drakru's bitterness had always been directed toward the one he'd once called "sister".

"I hope so," he added. The less work needing to be done, the quicker he could secure their claim.
"Trigedasleng" "common"
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#10
closing this out!

Of course he would hope for quiet, she thought derisively.  That was why she'd chosen the mountain herself; she didn't need to take the easy path, not when she was preparing herself for greatness and battle.  Her wolves would revel in the challenge.

Well, good luck, she said politely, figuring it probably would be best to just let them go.  Fighting them would be a waste of time - better to use their help against a shared enemy and then sort the rest out after.
Kiwi will internalize lies and twist things to her benefit until this becomes her reality.  Her thoughts are not my own <3