Dragoncrest Cliffs otherworld

Her father had left with the war party, leaving the girl worried and half wishing she'd gone out with them. Of course, she was a poor fighter, clumsy and slow, but perhaps she could have provided...moral support? She ought to learn to fight, or at least enough to protect their own borders, and strong as they might be already. The rest of them all seemed capable fighters, in the very least, she ought to be able to hold off an attacker. When Blixen returns, perhaps she ought to ask her cousin to teach her. 

Today, she roams the cliffs, investigating every nook and cranny in the hopes of finding another place like her little stream, where already winter has claimed the little bulb plants. The wind of the sea is fierce, buffeting her fur and having her blink rapidly as grit and sand are thrown into her eyes, fairly confident in the fact that today was a poor day to pursue cliff-exploring.

SYKE it's ya mom

unlike her daughter, the speckled fisa was relieved she didn't go. while she worried sick about her dio and hvitserk, she knew better than to think she'd be of any help. if anything, she'd get in the way, and she was so ill built for fighting that even if she was taught how to fight properly, she'd be taken down by a bigger wolf with the same amount of training. and besides, as skilled as she was in the art of healing, the redhawks had their own healer, and more than one would be overkill-- especially since she could very well be needed back home. 

so she walked and worried, since the poor mother had become quite the creature of worry since her pregnancy. all the things that could go wrong... it sent chills up her spine. she knew she could do nothing about this too, so she just looked for stray herbs and prayed her husband came back from the war.

along her walk, she came across dalia, who looked her own form of antsy. portia's brow furrowed gently and she moved forward to console her baby girl, who was too young to look like she carried a burden. "hey, hun," she purred, sweeping forward to give her daughter a soft nudge to the cheek, "are you holding up alright?" 

Perhaps it would storm; the waves buffet the cliffs with such uproar that the girl is careful to keep well away from the edges. She'd become skilled at navigating their steep faces, but winter's slickness and the roar of the sea have her wary, and though a part of her wishes to see the wind-whipped waves battle the snow-dusted rocks below, her mother's arrival has her turn away from the sea in its fury. 

The sylph picks her way towards her mother, dodging sharp spires of stone and scrappy clumps of lichen, the delicate clumps which crumble so easily beneath her. Her mother sweeps forward with her quiet grace, and the girl's tail sways at her hocks as she echoes her mother's greeting, nudging Portia's cheek with a small smile. "I'm alright," She admits, though truly she'd worried and doubtful. After a moment, she elaborates, the crash of the waves behind them.  "I'm worried. I know Drageda is strong - but war -" Here she paused, shifting again. She could imagine scraps over food or boundaries well enough, but entire packs charging against each other, killing each other, was terrifying.  "I never thought it'd be so real."

portia listened quietly as dalia began to confide her fears. the fisa took this moment to lick the fur between her ears, grooming and comforting the best she could before she spoke. she paused, nosing her daughters ear softly as she pulled back to look at the pale fairy. "it's not ideal," she murmured in agreement, ears splaying gently, "and you know how much i worry for your father." but there was nothing they could do from home-- nothing except prepare for their arrival, and portia knew she was capable of that. she smile softly at dalia, earrings pricking back up. 

"the commander and dio both have done this before... it's dangerous but, i've taken solace in knowing that they know what they're doing," she added, hoping that would be comforting. she hoped they knew what they were doing, anyway-- assumed that they did. if anything, heda was smart and resourceful, and with dio's help she couldn't get herself to think-- even for a second-- that they were unprepared. her tail twitched thoughtfully. "is there anything you'd like to do to keep your mind off of it, hun?"

She leaned into her mother's touch, finding comfort in her words that followed. Still, she could not banish entirely the worry the lingered in her chest. But beside her mother, it seemed more than manageable; it was easy to fold it away and put her trust in Portia's words. She nodded carefully, tail tip flicking against the snow as she fell silent a moment.

Her mother's offer for distraction had her ears perk, and for a moment she considered it.  "do you think we could look for some things to add to my collection?" By collection, she meant the growing pile of little rocks and trinkets she found along the cliffs, each brought before Portia as soon as it was found.  She loved to learn the names of each of them, and all Portia could tell of them; but thus far, she hadn't found anything especially extraordinary to add, and her worry and patrols along the border had held up her search for more.

a soft smile graced portia's lips, and she nodded gently at her daughters request. "by the ocean?" she asked her, taking a step forward and motioning for dalia to follow. she set off, tail low and still even as she moved. the weight of the war held steady on her shoulders-- she wished she could just see dio again... and hvitserk. soon, she reminded herself. soon. 

"did you find more seaglass lately, hun?" portia asked with a look towards her sweet angel child. she herself preferred stones... amethyst and quartz and anything else she could find that aired on the side of gems-- but she knew how much dalia loved the ocean's treasures, and she couldn't say she herself didn't enjoy it's shimmery gifts.

she dipped her head gladly, moving to fall into step beside her mother. she loved most the rocks by the seaside, their sparkle and their perfect smoothness. when the salt water left their surface they inevitably turned dull and listless, except for the sea glass and the special-stones her mother was so good at finding. 

to her mother's next question, she shook her head. "there is a pack on the sea-glass beach, now"  dalia had been uncertain when, upon her first visit there, she'd encountered the scents of a few. but they had only grown, and when she had returned last, the way there had been barred to her. she motioned with her muzzle in their general direction, disappointment obvious in her words.

portia frowned, she actually had known that. but surely there was glass on other beaches, right? "we'll have to find you another beach then. maybe not as plentiful but still lots for you to choose from, i'm sure." portia hoped that was reassuring, and she tacked on, "let's look on our beach anyway, i'm sure there's something there." there was a nice collection of stones along the beach as well, and though they weren't dalia's favorite, portia knew how to find the best ones along the beach-- and dalia always loved them.

as they walked, sure enough, portia spotted something intriguing, and slowed to nose a little black triangle in the sand. it was low tide now, and so the high tide left behind plenty of treasures-- should they keep their eyes open. "look at this, dalia, shark tooth," she said sweetly, raising her head to let her daughter look closer at it.