Stavanger Bay hands getting cold

@Ford but AW

dalia busied herself in a number of ways now... with things she wasn't even necessarily fond of. truthfully, she didn't love border patrol. it was terrifying, actually. at any second a complete stranger could appear out of nowhere and attack her... or, maybe not even attack her. but dalia was so much more comfortable within their protected borders, with velen and ford and rannveig. everything else was just... scary. to put it simply. 

but it helped to patrol. every day she followed their scent markers was a day that dalia was standing up to her own demons. sure, she was far from healed, but she found a peace within her terror. and every day it felt a little less terrible. she jumped less-- marginally-- at breezes that shook the trees and at birds that flew from the bushes. and she got better and better at picking up scents before wolves appeared, which helped her to be less jumpy when wolves who weren't frightening appeared out of midair... because wolves tended to do that a lot. she was making progress. slowly, and in strange ways, but all the same. 

so, today, she patrolled. her ears were pricked and alert, her tail held straight out behind her as she traversed the southern border. glaring into the ashen graveyard-- with all the trees that laid there to rest, so laid her innocence. her lip curled gently at it, revealing a few sharp, white teeth, and then she looked forwards again, chin tilted up.

The girl's scent had grown stronger in the weeks leading up to that day. Though it had been some time since the titan had spoken with her, he understood that she would have needed time to gather herself. More than this, the warhound had felt as though he had let her down. He had vowed to search for the man who had assaulted her and had returned with nothing to show for it. Instead, Ford had worked harder than ever to enforce their claim and to make sure that each stranger was met with a watchful eye. The wolves of Stormrift were his, and he – the stormblessed – had made an oath to keep them safe from harm.

The world would do enough damage on its own – Ford did not need the likes of others to threaten the empire that he had worked to build.

With long strides, the sea-bound wraith moved along their borders. Every so often, he would glance toward the ashen and dismal display of the sentinels. The cool whip of winter wind would stretch out and brush against him, covering his dark coat in a thin layer of ash and sand. Ford did not pause to tend to his appearance. He trekked along swiftly after the scent of Dalia. When the brute saw her, he breathed a heavy breath and released a quiet bark to catch her attention. With that, the warhound trotted to catch up to her figure.

she had scented him. she had, really. still, at his bark, the delicate pearl gave a slight flinch, but the fur along her hackles only barely raised, and she smoothed them out much faster as she turned to see the broad figure of ford approached her. her expression, stern, relaxed then, falling into a more dalia softness, a smile caressing her thin face. "ford," she chirped, happy to see the man now-- she hadn't seen him in so long. his absence in her life had worried her-- did he think she was soiled? useless? weak? what did he think? she wished she knew. admittedly, she worried too much about it. but, seeing him now brought a slew of new questions. silently, she wondered if he brought news of the man-- if he'd found anyone that matched her description of him. she would sleep better at night knowing that justice had been served. 

"how are you?" she asked instead, not finding the boldness within her to ask him any of the questions she actually had.

The girl was quick to turn to him, but he did not miss the quick reflex that had lifted her hackles before they rested. The brute wondered if she still felt as though she was at risk of another attack. He had worked himself weary in an attempt to keep their lands safe, as well as to keep out any unwanted bodies. He had wandered until he could no longer track the male who had assaulted her so carelessly, and even though he had returned to the bay, he did not allow a day to pass when he didn't think of the bastard. There would come a time when the warhound would find purchase in the stranger's neck, and he would drag the body back to the ocean for the sharks to devour. Until then, his focus was on his pack and the growth that they still had to attain.

“I'm as well as I can be, Dalia,” he offered her in a smoky baritone, lacing his dark lips in a ghostly smile. He closed the remaining distance that had been between them and then breathed a deep sigh. The ocean leveled his head, and he focused on the quiet lapping of the waves against their shore. “How have you been fairing?” the titan finally asked her. He canted his head just slightly to the right and his mismatched gaze burned through her features.

as well as i can be, dalia parroted in a stupid attempt at banter. ford still didn’t strike her as the banter type but... well, dalia was the banter type. she dialed it back rather quickly, though. I’m doing better, she said, ears pressing forwards as his gaze bore into her delicate features. ah, even after all this time apart she felt so strange beneath his gaze— she just didn’t understand it. i have been patrolling, she added motioning to the scent line to the side of them. 

i want to learn to fight, she then said, sort of suddenly, i am small and weak and i don’t want to be that way anymore. if she could do something about her own safety, she would do it.

“I had noticed that,” the warhound commented when she had mentioned her rounds along the edges of the bay. It was something that he had found to be a welcome change, but he still had done what he could to stay away from her. It was difficult for him to imagine that she would have wanted his presence there when he had been so cold before. That was something that would likely never change; Ford was cold to his very core. In spite of this, he had found his own way to communicate with those around him. He had also found his ways of making them better.

Dalia admitted that she wished to learn how to fight. The titan blinked twice at her before smiling and bowing his head lower than it had been. Then, he cast a sidelong glance to her freckled features and latched his mismatched gaze with the color of the ocean in her own. For a moment, he was grasped there, and his features did not waver away. When his internal timer reminded him of his manners, he pulled his sights from her slim face and cleared his throat. “Well, that's very admirable of you,” he began in a soft voice. “We aim to overcome our greatest weaknesses so that we can prevail no matter the challenge,” the wraith then offered her. Only then did he return his gaze to her face.

“I will teach you to fight, and you will never feel as though you cannot defend yourself again.”

he was cold. she didn't want to admit that she preferred velen's company over his because, well, it simply wasn't true. but dalia found she felt more comfortable in his presence-- he was warm, and she squirm beneath his gaze. not in the same way that she did beneath ford's. just as she did now. he held her own, pressing into her and holding on as long as he could-- maybe too long. dalia couldn't look away, she didn't want to look away. she just wished she knew what he was thinking. velen never made her feel confused or lost. she always felt grounded around him. 

ford was just so... unique... she couldn't move past it-- couldn't move past the veil of mystery that he shrouded around himself. did he know?

but he looked away, seemingly remembering himself, and then handed her a compliment. her ears flicked, nose dipping in a gentle nod of gratitude. and then he agreed to help her, and her ears pricked back up. "thank you, ford," she said, shifting and clearing her throat. she didn't know what else to say, did he mean now? later? her chin tilted upwards. "i will listen to everything you have to teach me."

It mattered very little how much Ford and Velen had in common with each other. They were brothers, after all, and they shared a great deal of the same blood in their veins. Still, it was not the true judge of what they had become; it was how they acted on what waged war inside of them. Though the warhound was a savage and tactical brute, he had done well in his growth to understand how he was intended to behave around others. There were still things that he lacked, but it wasn't out of a lack of trying. No, Ford simply lacked a great deal of the humanity that had been strewn to his siblings. He was a dark shell of a living creature – no matter what he did to appear otherwise, there was not much that would transform him into a more caring beast.

Regardless of the idea that he lacked emotion, Ford was a capable beast of the water. Whether Dalia felt comfortable around him or not, she would learn great things from the titan. In order to show that he was grateful for her willingness, the skeletal brute breathed a deep sigh and lowered his head. “It will take time, but I know that you will be capable of great things. You have an indomitable spirit in you,” the warhound commented to her with the faintest hint of a smile on his dark lips.

“When do you wish to begin?”

the praise did not go over dalia's head, and she dipped her head to show her appreciation of his words, catching sight of that fragment of a smile. it warmed her to see it-- rarely ever had she seen a smile upon his features. her tail wagged at the thought of her making him show such an emotion. she didn't thank him a second time, she thought it would be overkill.

"whenever," she said, her ears flicking once, "i will learn now or i will wait. i am ready whenever."

The freckled girl's willingness was something that did not go missed by the sea wraith. Though she did not seem to care about when her training began, he figured that it would have been best to give her a little time to prepare. There was a mindset that was involved in taking on a battle, even a mock one. While he did not doubt her capability, he wanted her to be as actively engaged as was possible. Time would gnaw at the inside of her stomach and teach her the ways of the warriors wait. Until then, he thought it best that they took to their borders and made a clear marking.

“I will call to you in a week or less. For now, let us work on tending to the borders and working on your strength with the water,” he offered her in a gentle tone. There was a small bob of his skull before he motioned for them to walk and patrol their bay. It would not have been long before they would have officially marked the territory as their own. In many ways, Ford felt pleased that he had happened upon Dalia; she was a valuable asset to their brood.

"okay," dalia returned simply, her ears pivoting forwards again, "i will be ready." she would be, too. she, of course, did not know how to prepare... but she could at least prepare herself mentally to begin training. she was just so tired of feeling useless... 

she wondered what he meant about strength in the water... swimming? perhaps? she wondered what it had to do with defense, but she did not bother him with that question now-- she would perhaps ask later, or perhaps he would tell her when the time came. either way, it was not worth it now. 

and then, before dalia could suggest they finish the patrol, ford himself motioned that they continue along. dalia's head bobbed along with his, her tail waving a few times. she was silent, having nothing else to say, now simply relishing in some sense of accomplishment and pride.