Permafrost Hollows badlands

a wild mercenary thread appears! i know she's not inside sleeping dragon's borders technically, but she's close enough for it to maybe count as patrolling. :p

Since Freyja had earned her trade and everyone had praised her Eske had quickly took hold of the jealousy she felt, the fire of her aggressive and competitive nature and turned it into determination. Freyja thought she was so special, did she? Eske would show her. She would show them all. It was what pushed the young Grounder Princess into action. She rose early, filled her belly with a meal taken from one of Drageda's caches and made her way to the borders. Surely there was probably some sort of policy: that she shouldn't patrol the borders on her own. So, she didn't. She took to the Permafrost Hollows, just outside of Drageda's borders. Her eyes of blue-green sea glass stared into Drageda for a moment before she followed the path of the scent markers. She moved with fierce purpose and confidence, unafraid. She was still close to Drageda's borders and anyway she had pent up aggression that she would love to let loose on some poor soul that came wandering her way. Since sinking her teeth into her silver sister was definitely frowned upon.

Eske steeled her shoulders as she moved along the mid-morning shadows of the trees of the Hollow that reached out to touch Drageda's scent markers, alert for any sounds or smells that did not belong.

Slowly Roz was integrating herself with her new digs and new crew, and so far she'd gotten a good impression of most she'd encountered.  She liked to think that went both ways, though ya never really knew for sure.  No one had chased her from their borders yet, so she'd say it was going well.

To date she'd only met one of the younger crowd, and she hadn't really gone out of her way to introduce herself to the others.  One, that wasn't really how she operated (they'd meet eventually) and two, some packs were iffy about that sort of thing.  She'd hate to approach and get a throat full of a mother's teeth.  They were older, yeah, but not yet adult, and newer members could take a bit of trust building.

However, when she saw Eske walking by herself, her initial impression was that no one could really fault her for giving  quick hello and seeing if she wanted company.  Right?  Ignoring the fact that it was really Roz who wouldn't mind the company herself.  After months alone she would probably be starved for a while yet.  It was an unexpected encounter, seeing as she'd set out this morning leaving the boundaries to explore a bit of the surrounding territory.  It was important to know both the insides and out well if she was to make a home here.

"Hey!" she called out, not exactly loudly but hopefully enough to catch attention.  Then she waited, not at all throwing out the possibility she might be ignored completely.  Some wolves just weren't people people.

As it stood, Eske had considered utterly ignoring the 'hey' that had been called out to her. The voice was unfamiliar but the woman's scent was of Drageda and that set the Grounder Princess at ease. Her hackles had bristled at the sound of approach and Eske did not bother to lower them. The wolf might be of Drageda but she did not appreciate being called out to so ...commonly. She was the Grounder Princess after all and though Eske was well aware how the line of hierarchy worked in the Grounder culture she would never be Heda. She was not a nightblood and her mother's vacant crown as Viking Queen would never be bestowed upon Eske's head she couldn't help but feel herself better. She was destined for greatness even if that greatness was murky and currently unclear to her. It was only after she marked a part of the borders did she finally turn to the dark woman who had called out to her, absently, her blue-green eyes the color of sea glass assessing the older woman with unreserved judgment.

Eske was quiet for a moment, running her tongue over the roof of her mouth as she deliberated between her native tongue — which was her preferred method of speaking — and the common tongue. She knew little of this woman, but remembered seeing her at the meeting. “Hei,” Eske greeted her in Trigedasleng. She rarely spoke anything else for it hadn't truly been much of a requirement except around Gyda who did not speak the language of the Grounders. For this purpose, Eske had been forced to learn the common tongue just as fluently and she could not deny that there was advantage to it. Still, she was a stubborn beast, if nothing else.

She was starting to think ignore was where this was going.... but then a response! The other wolf may have been stubborn, but to Rosalyn, the term sounded close enough to "hey" that she didn't even notice.

"Nice day for a jaunt, eh?". Roz cheerfully came closer, not bothering to find out if her packmate had something else in mind.  Surely she could spare a moment for an introduction!  "Name's Roz.  Or Rosalyn, if you prefer." as Freyja seemed to.

i am sorry to keep you waiting on this! and i'm also sorry for eske's 'tude

Eske eyed her pack mate as she cheerfully drew nearer to her. The Grounder Princess drew up, recoiling from the apparent friendliness with a scowl tugging at the edges of her lips. Being the grump butt that Eske was she didn't understand how people could be so peppy. “Yeah, it's beautiful,” Eske mumbled, cynical. She wasn't out for a “jaunt” — she was patrolling. It had never made sense to the young girl why they only patrolled from inside their borders. Why not outside of them, too? That was where the danger would likely linger and she wanted to be one step ahead of them. “And I'm not out for a ...a jaunt,” The word rolled off her tongue strangely, mimicking the sounds that the word had made falling effortlessly from Roz's lips. Ugh, she hated the common tongue. “I'm patrolling.” She insisted, wanting to make her presence outside of Drageda's borders clear. She didn't want Heda to think that she wasn't doing what she was supposed to be. In some ways, she was disobeying. No doubt Gyda would skin her alive if she knew she was outside the safety of the pack's borders, but Eske wasn't scared.

Not of strangers and not of her mother (oops).

“Eske.” The Grounder Princess offered simply, eyeing Roz up again. For a moment, Eske (because she's rude af) considered continuing on with her patrol and letting Roz to either stay here or join her but as she figured word would probably get back to Gavriel or Gyda and then to Heda she stayed this desire to be mean. “Can you walk and talk at the same time?” The girl asked with a gesture of her muzzle before she returned to her border, an ear cocked in Roz's direction to tell if her companion had decided to remain company or continue on her way.

Aren't you a bundle of cheer, Roz thought in amusement as Eske answered her question.  The girl's attitude wasn't lost on Rosalyn, but she decided to effectively and cheerfully ignore it for now.  "Patrol, eh? Alright."

A walking pace should suit her well and she could use the stretch and exercise.  "The talking I got.  The walking, we'll find out."  She stretched briefly, waiting for Eske to lead where she would.  She was the one on a mission after all.  "So, Eske then.  You look like a girl who knows how to have a good time."  Damn, she couldn't resist.

*squeaks apologetically at how late this reply is* i edited a conclusion on this so i could go ahead and archive it.

That was what I said, the roll of Eske's eyes silently communicated as she looked away from Roz for a moment to the free territories with the Dragon to her back. They stretched on, endless, and for a small moment Eske wondered what lay beyond. She had no real desire to venture out and explore the Wilds but she could not deny that she wasn't curious, even a little bit. She was too young to leave Sleeping Dragon but she had no real desire to, either. She only wanted to train and to fight. Eske led the way eagerly when the older woman gestured for her to. She resumed her patrol, content to settle back into the familiar pattern and routine ...although she was not used to having company; or company past her mother. Eske's companion deigned to keep their conversation going as they moved, and the girl's ear twitched back to silently communicate that she was (even if it was with some reluctance) listening. “So what if I do?” Eske challenged Roz's observation that she looked like she knew how to have a good time. Damn right Eske did, but she desired to know why it mattered to Roz, lest the older woman was simply trying to make the conversation a little less one sided.

In the end it was in vain. Eske ended up largely ignoring the other woman's presence and was unable to say whether she had gotten a reply to her demanding question or not. Instead, she shrugged it off and focused on her patrol.