Dragoncrest Cliffs a storm with skin

@Tirgatao

The cold weather having rolled in hasn’t been the easiest. The sea whips its wind inward most of the time, adding an extra chill to their bones if they were caught outside. She hadn’t been able to sleep much the night before with all the chaos on the outside world. Snow covers most of the cavern opening but the majority of Drageda had remained inside to share the warmth. It is not much she chooses to leave their shelter but she slips into the back where the opened cavern exposes her to the sea.

For the first time in days, there is a calm. She hears the ocean beat against the shores clearly and free of anger. It does little to soothe her, however, as she steps out to find the wind on a slight blow. It is still enough to feel it to her bones but she does not feel the need to rush back and keep herself away from the sea. Thuringwethil lowers herself to the cool stone near a corner where she can avoid the extra bite of wind and lets the crashing wake nearby.

There was no better way to get to know your new clanmates than to be stuck huddled together with them during a terribly cold turn of the weather. The cavern they shared was spacious enough for the lot of them, but still Tirgatao felt uneasy sharing such proximity to so many others. She didn't know any of them yet; their likes, dislikes. She lacked information on who was the more patient of the bunch, and who was more easily rankled. Portia had potential as a friend, though Tir still wasn't entirely certain where her feelings lie on the matter of an outsider rising to such an important rank. The same could be said for many of the strangers that she suddenly shared bunk with.

She was lying near a wall of the cavern when she heard someone move a few yards off. She lifted her head, eyes focusing quickly in the limited light, only to catch sight of the Heda's dark form disappear around a corner. She pressed her lips together as she ruminated on whether or not to follow Thuringwethil, or to leave the Heda to her own. But she had questions. Many of them, and none of which could be satisfied by anyone but her. 

Tirgatao rolled to her feet and stepped lightly around the others still slumbering nearby. Her tail brushes the tip of someone's ear, but they do not stir. She follows the path through the cave until light bleeds into the threshold and exposes her to the leeward side of the sea. It is far more tranquil here though still bitterly cold. She turns now, nose leading her eyes to fall upon Heda lying upon a rock face tucked away against the cliffs. An upwelling of uncertainty forms a knot in her throat, but she is a Shouna and there is no room for her emotions here.

"Heda," she says softly when she comes within reach of the swarthy commander. Her head lowers, and her eyes close out of respect. "may I join you?"

She does not get but a few minutes alone before the sound of another comes around the corner. Her dark eyes turn to find Tirgatao stepping out and Thuringwethil works to untangle her legs and stand to better greet the submission. She hadn’t seen much of Tirgatao since she’d come home to the sea and her Heda but there has been much happening. Between the cold weather taking them over, and allowing the kru to stay inside, Thuringwethil finds herself far busier than she expected.

And now, Wildfire is home.

She had not mentioned her mate to the shouna before and she realizes she doesn’t know everything Gyda and Gavriel may have said to them. The news should not be kept from those here or Trigeda but there is still a level of pitchfork she has come to expect.

“Yu na,” she says, adjusting her footing so the pale woman can sit without the wind blowing into her face. Thuringwethil shifts to make it a little more comfortable and lowers her rump to the ground instead of her entire frame. Sitting is as far as she’ll currently allow herself to relax when there is so much tension built up in her shoulders. “Shopta?”

Tir is loathed to disturb Heda. She knows how rare it is to find a moment's peace but, she supposed, that came with the territory of being a commander; something the pale woman didn't envy in the slightest. She knew, someday if she was very lucky, she might be called upon to join the Hedonakru for her tenacity and skill was unquestionable. Still, she could not help but doubt. Portia had confirmed not all was what it should be within Drageda. Was that a problem? She was uncertain.

But her internal conflict is soothed some when Thuringwethil agrees to her company and she strides over to the rock to join her in the little nook. There is tension in the lines of the Heda's shoulders; she is stiff, not from disuse or the chill, but something more internal. But the Shouna was no mind-reader. No, she simply observed. And as such she is quiet for a moment as she mulled over the question, wondering if she should simply launch straight into it and cut to the heart of the issue or let it lie for a little longer.

Her ears droop a bit. "Well enough," she settles on, lashing her tongue across her inky lips to wet them. They're a bit chapped from the wind. She dips her head towards Thuringwethil, but does not look up to find her eyes should they look her way. "but, as you imagine, I have... questions on the nature of things in Drageda. Things I did not feel comfortable asking the Skayona, Portia." Tirgatao speaks in a hesitant sort of cadence, fearful to draw a rise out of the Heda and threaten her newfound place among the Drageda.

I AM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT

With the influx of Seageda wolves, Thuringwethil is thankful but she is more aware of what she may have to answer to. Gavriel had been a comfort when he'd been here, understanding (for the most part) of the changes and why they were necessary. His defiance against siring her and Wildfire's young had been a realization that she has changed more than she'd ever anticipated. Embarking on a new world had been her command through her dreams but she knows they are not overall very happy. In time, she hopes they'll all come around and understand things had to change.

It does not surprise her when Tirgatao confesses she has questions, especially since she mentions one of her own not of their family. Thuringwethil nods her head but feels a new wave of anxiety wash over her she tucks elsewhere.

baps face shhh it fine

This was not a conversation Tirgatao wanted to have, but the answers could come from no one but Heda herself. It was not fair to chase threads on the heels of the other members, nor was it proper. The pale Kru—loathed as she was to accept her semi-demotion, turned away and locked her eyes on the sea as not to challenge Thuringwethil further than her words might. "Portia mentioned that... outsiders," This word was weighed heavily but with extreme care. "are now part of your Hedonakru. Why not those already proven as family? Those that remained loyal to you? Or could you not trust after what happened?" Tirgatao was willing to see the truth behind what transpired in Drageda; Seageda was unfortunate—that was all there was to say on the matter.

She fell silent, lips pressed tightly together, and brows knit with the faintest hint of concern and anxiety.

Tanja had voiced his concern when he arrived but Thuringwethil had been upfront right away. Thuringwethil had told Tirgatao a few things but she’d held back her reservations. She found out on her own, Heda knew she would, but she didn’t have the same reaction as the gona had. Instead, she’s given room to explain and for that she is thankful (even if she knows she doesn’t have to).

“There had been a few that found their way here when Gyda and I claimed Sleeping Dragon. Eli, Snacha. They disappeared before the first moon of our claim,” she explains with a slight raise of her brow. The loyalty of her followers has turned out to be hit or miss, just as the outsiders, but her own had the same thing in common: rejecting them. “Dio has been here almost as long as Drageda has stood. And Hush has been here since the beginning. Wildfire has been here longer than any Seageda member here,” she explains. “Those that say they are family have yet to prove it to me or have had a different purpose.” Some have returned to Trigeda for one reason or another and Gavriel himself earned a chance to lead a branch of their own, between here and Trigeda, and she eagerly awaits words when the days begin to warm.

Tir was surprised at herself, but she found that she accepted Heda's explaination. There was a great amount of unease still harbored deep within, and she could not be certain if she could trust these outsiders herself, but Heda willed it. She had no choice but to accept. A part of her had expected Thuringwethil to ignore her questions, or even punish her for being so bold as to question her decisions. But Tirgatao would not be herself if she did not attempt to learn the whole story—it was a trait that had gotten her in trouble many times in the past. 

She flattened her ears and lowered her muzzle to rest her chin against her neck. Tir looked thoughtful and, perhaps, angry. The wolves of Seageda continued to let her down, even now that she was leagues away from it. "I understand." She replied softly, turning her warm gaze upon Thuringwethil's impressive form. Tirgatao's heart beat thickly against her chest. Despite her reservations, she was happy to be near the Commander once again. "I just worry." She admitted suddenly. "If others hear word of the changes made here, who is to say they won't rise up and challenge your order?" Tir switched her ears back and pursed her lips. "A repeat of Seageda is not something I want to witness again."

Tirgatao’s concern puts a smile upon her features. Thuringwethil thumps her head once and glances away, off toward the sea as she considers her words. She’s quiet for a long moment but she nods anyway, licking her lips as her mouth becomes dry.

It is not herself that she is concerned for but the wolves she has collected in the last year. Would they sacrifice their lives if the next Heda commanded it? Her council had scarified themselves in their final act to prove their loyalty and while it leaves her without the proper support she needs, she knows there are wolves within Seageda still true to their Heda and she can only hope those that have become loyal to her are just as loyal to the legacy they have built.

“They may hear. They may challenge me. I will defend Drageda until I am no more.”

Tir slides her gaze towards Heda again, but she doesn't move otherwise. A slow smile creeps across her lips and she rumbles a note of pride. "You have my support, Heda, as you always have." She says with a nod. It was unfortunate that more of their people could not be counted among them, but she was glad to bear witness to Thuringwethil's faith. The Commander was a bastion that Tirgatao looked to for guidance, and it had not sat well to doubt her. There was always a reason, and if longitevity was it, then who was she to argue. 

"I wish to serve as Shouna, again." She revealed. "If there is a need for it." 

Tirgatao had served as Shouna prior to her becoming Heda, continuing her work when she’d taken the crown. When Trigeda opened their arms to the fallen, she imagined they had to work to prove themselves too but she hadn’t been there and her direction communication with their leader has been non-existence. It would be easy to slip Tirgatao for her rightful spot but she does not right away, even if she knew her skills to be true. Drageda is a new start for the woman, as it has been for everyone.

“I would like that. There is one spot left in the council,” she mentions with a brow. After Heda, the most important role--one an outsider could not easily have.

Tir inhales sharply—she whips her head around and regards Heda with wide eyes. Her mouth falls slightly ajar, but she shuts it almost immediately. "Heda, I--" she blinks and looks towards the sea, but her eyes dart left and right as she attempts to reason with her surprise. She had expected that someday she might have been asked to serve as a Fleimkepa, but not here—not anytime soon. But here she was, seated beside the one soul who could make it possible. The one wolf who she would serve without question or fear. 

She bowed her head, "Of course." She replied humbly. Tirgatao knew what had to be done now, and it would be a long road to earn the love and trust of the Drageda, not to mention the absolute trust of Thuringwethil. But she would because Heda wished it.

The information seems to startle Tirgatao, more than she expects, but she offers a hint of a smile anyway. When the woman takes the hint, however, she knows she won’t stop until she’s accomplished it. Portia has no interest in leadership, happy to serve as their healer, and Hush isn’t a practical choice. Neither of them have the experience as a counselor either, much less one suited for Drageda. Tirgatao, her elder, is the most suited with her history of Seageda readily available and likely better than hers in some aspect.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she finally says with a twitch of her tail as she picks herself up and nods once, giving her departure.

Tirgatao nods back when Heda rises to leave, signaling the end of their conversation. Her heartbeat slows again as her mind rationalizes with her nerves. Yes, it makes sense. It was not like they could go crawling back to Trigeda and ask for a stand-in; it didn't work like that. But Thuringwethil trusted her with the task, above even Portia. There had to be a reason for it but it was not a question she wanted to ask just yet.

"As am I." she breathes at Thuringwethil's departing form before rising and heading back into the caverns.