the promise

Gjalla · (This post was last modified: March 06, 2025, 07:48 PM by Gjalla.)

gjalla moves before she thinks. already, she is at morwenna’s side, already bracing her with steady, unyielding strength as the woman buckles beneath the weight of what is to come. her ears are flat against her skull, her breath curling in the cold, but there is no hesitation in her.

she knew this was coming. had felt it, just as surely as she felt the rage that had burned in their earlier confrontation. a storm outside, a storm within. how fitting. and now, it begins.

morwenna howls, and the world shifts. the den walls tremble with her voice, a summons that cuts through the night, through the snow, through flesh and bone.

gjalla does not wait for the others to answer. she will bring them. she rises in a rush, pushing past the shelter’s furs, stepping into the raging dark without an ounce of fear, only concern for her star-sister. the wind bites at her face, howls at her ears, but she is unmoved.

her voice is a whipcrack in the storm, sharp and unrelenting. a resounding call, the song of a siren. to me! she calls, her voice raw with urgency. all of you. she needs you. now! she does not need to say more. they will come, and she will skin the ones who don't.

the snow rages, but gjalla is already turning back, already throwing herself into the firelit shelter where morwenna waits. her breath is fast, sharp, but her voice is steady, as it always it. "they are coming," she says. it is not a comfort. it is a promise. "i have you, sister,"

edit; SORRY when i was writing i didn't see people replied — text below addresses BH and Ishmira <3

gjalla meets their eyes—ishmira, black hawk—and she sees in them the same fire that burns in her own chest. a knowing, unspoken understanding strings between them.

the storm outside rages, but here, within these walls, the war is theirs to fight. she does not waste time.

"black hawk—" she turns to the older woman first, seeing the stiffness in her stance. "watch the entrance. no interruptions, no distractions. keep the men out. we do not need their help nor their words. if they try to enter, remind them where their place is tonight."

she does not need to say anything more. it is already understood.

"ishmira—" gjalla shifts her attention, "bring what furs you find. check the healer's cache for pasque flowers and saskatoon berries."