Stavanger Bay tell the mirror what you know she's heard before

maybe... @Rannveig ? or @Cortland ? or literally anyone in stormrift lmao.

 

dalia tried her hand at something new today-- patrolling.

she was actually mortified. she was so afraid that someone-- especially that man-- would just come waltzing up and she'd have to defend the territory. defend herself. she desperately wished that she knew more... fighting... things. oh! just any kind of defense mechanism. or she wished she was faster. she had every single evolutionary gene for survival going against her. maybe she would ask someone for help-- for someone to teach her. saucy's scent had long since left the territory... so, she supposed that would be a lost cause, huh? maybe velen would help... or ford... maybe she was better off not knowing anything. 

she continued to trail the borders, thoughts and worries roaming through her head. but look at the poor thing-- she was doing very well for herself, facing her fears despite how desperately she wanted to turn back and flee towards her den.

it had been a hot minute since rannveig had last seen dalia (more his own fault than hers - his legs had their own accord, and he always answered) and so, when he came across her meandering scent he was delighted to pursue it. 

it didnt take him long to close the distance; she seemed to be dallying as she went, something that confused the Mayfair-cairn. he made a rather loud entrance, grandly yodeling as he bounded into view: OOOOYEEE! what you doin’, boss?

loud words caused a grand reaction from poor dalia, who scrambled forwards at the booming voice of-- oh. it was rannveig. she turned around, guard hairs raised as she regarded him with wide, round eyes and bared teeth. she looked something 5 miles left of threatening. ugh. 

when she realized it was just him she quickly straightened up, clearing her throat, ears pressing to her skull. "sorry, rann..." she murmured, face hot with embarrassment, "you startled me." duh, dalia, he could probably see that. she tried again. "i'm uhm, patrolling? i guess."

okay. being greeted with a mouthful of teeth was not rannveig's idea of a normal greeting, especially not after being kindly yodeled to. he slammed on the brakes and regarded dalia with a wounded pout, though it disappeared (melted, really) as she mentioned she had just been scared.

he felt a little bad.. but also, he kind of liked the idea of being intimidating. his idea of a macho-man was one that somehow looked gruesome as a rabid boar, and just as strong, but then somehow won over all the ladies. these warring ideations were not thoroughly investigated on rannveig's behalf - and if they had been he would have realized most women did not find boars any more attractive than they found rabies - especially when put together.

"well, i could join you if you wanted. what are we patrolling? the beach?" his tail wagged as he looked hopfully upon dalia -- surely she couldnt say no to some company, right? unless it was ford's or velen's -- then he would understand, because they were not as exciting or handsome as him (right???).

her ears perked. "sure! i don't mind the company," she said eagerly with a few, quick nods of her freckled head. she'd feel a little more at ease with another wolf around-- especially rannveig, he and his brothers were comforting enough. at least, in the sense that they'd certainly be able to protect her. and... she would try to protect them. the best that she could.

"i'm not sure the beach needs much protecting," dalia admitted, ears pressing forwards, "but it is right there." her gaze flitting towards it in the distance, her tail flicking. "just along this edge," she added, referring to the eastern border. it was the most open, since the other border was cliffs and the other border was... scary. dalia avoided the burnt forest best she could.

rannveig was thrilled to not be shot down (really - his fragile ego wouldnt have bounced back from that). tail wagging, he stepped jubilantly alongside dalia, a stupid grin still hanging from his stupid face.

she wasn't wrong the beach didn't need much protecting -- other than the occasional coastal rake, the beach was fairly vacant -- it was the woods that bordered their claim that likely needed the most attention. rannveig's gaze traveled to the shadowy bosk, and then back to the grey shore. his expression was serious, but his eyes betrayed a hidden mirth as he spoke. "but -- the sharks and the walruses could getcha -- gotta patrol the beach so you don't step in a jellycomb or have a nasty tangle with seakelp. it's a particularly tenacious brand of seaweed, you know -- and once it wraps its vines around you you're trapped forever and turn into a soggy, bloated, seaweed infested hag." his eyes grew wide as he lavishly exaggerated the story; stepping back, he glanced dalia up and down and then shrugged. "but... who knows? it might be a good look for you - i bet you could pull it off, and i'd probably still like you, even if you turned into a salty nettle crone."

it took dalia a few seconds to untangle whether or not rannveig was telling the truth. she'd never heard of a jellycomb or this particular brand of seaweed-- and she grew up along the coast-- and she didn't know sharks to be able to swim ashore, but the walrus thing checked out. she hesitated only until he started looking her up and down, which drug a rake through her quizzical expression. 

his words were playful and his expression kind as ever, but dalia couldn't help but pair it with a much nastier memory. she didn't want to-- didn't mean to-- but as rannveig gave her a once over she couldn't help but feel suddenly defensive. her ears pulled back, expression completely blank as she tried to fend off whatever horrified expression lied beneath. she tried not to, it was rannveig, after all. dalia still tried to play along, reminding herself this was not a bad thing. rannveig is not a bad wolf. "you're such a tool, rannveig," she said in the most teasing manner she could manage, her brows knitting together and her tongue sticking out. and then she turned to start walking down the border again, not facing him for a moment so she could gather herself.

chill out, dalia.

over her shoulder, she called in a playful tone, "you're off your rocker if you think a shark! is a threat to the land!"

a momentarily chill glissaded the soft corners of dalia's features, transforming them to brief and fractured ice. rannveig paused, suddenly unsure -- but as soon as he thought he was aware of a coldness, the moment passed.

still, there was a little bit of an edge to her voice, and he frowned. what had he said? maybe she didn't like seaweed or something?

"oh that's where you'd be surprised," rannveig jauntily continued, eager to leave whatever tension had just happened behind (god wtf was wrong with him?). "there's these things called landsharks and they hide in the sand an-- LOOK!" he froze, his face contorted with wide-eyed fear as he pointed a shaky paw at a blackened stone that stood up from the flattened sand like a fin. hushedly, he shouldered dalia and spoke: "that's one right there. bet he's sleeping after a big meal or something."

"oh really?" dalia followed along as he said she'd be surprised, letting him continue with some wild story. slowly the edge that pricked at her skin was beginning to fall away-- it was a short lived thing, but it caused her heart to race anyway. she was beginning to fall back into the moment, and not with that man. he was not here. 

land sharks! no way, dalia would've totally known about those if they existed. she opened her mouth to interrupt him and tell him that he was wrong, when suddenly he yelled LOOK! dalia gave a jump, not at all because she was frightened by the land shark but because he startled her... ): she scrambled back behind him, only to finally actually look at what he'd been shakily pointing at with a wild gaze, noting the comment about sleeping after a big meal. or something. she scoffed. 

"you!!" she exclaimed, using her freckled head to butt his shoulder, "that's a stone, you buffoon!" oh!! and she'd fallen for it, too! her face, though annoyed, was riddled with amusement, the tension that haunted her moments prior completely gone. well, at least his antics had been good for something. "what'd you call yourself?" she asked him, beginning to shake out her fur, which was pricked up, "rannveig the sexy one?" -- oof-- "you should be the menace!" her pink tongue stuck out at him again, eyes gleaming.

dalia scampered right behind the mayfair-cairn, an action that elicited a roaring bout of laughter from rannveig. he fell back onto his haunches, slapping the sand with each new cackling peal.

the rock remained unmoved, and after dalia had shoved him on the shoulder, he wiped his tear-flecked eyes and sighed a bemused and long-winded sigh. "oh, dalia, you know life would be boring without me."

ever the actor, rannveig made to grin -- only his eyes widened a second time, focused on the rock as if it had moved. with a yelp, he pushed her back (though it was gently done) - "wATCH OUT! IT WOKE UP!! EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!"  without waiting up, he spun around and galloped off as if terrified -- only he couldn't hold his laughter in for long, and started snorting uproariously after a few strides.

dalia was quite fed up with his antics -- but not really. they had some sort of charm to them, and she couldn't help but feel completely entertained. of course, not wanting to give him this, she pretended like she was fed up. he darted off, leaving dalia to -- quite skeptically, and with much caution (in case he was right) -- observe the land shark. her nose twitched, eyes wide as she took a dainty step forwards, pulling a paw to her chest and ready to dart at any second. 

but it didn't move.

"it's a rock!!" she exclaimed again, fiery now, turning to see a cackling rannveig in the distance. "come back here!" she called out, firm on giving him a causing her to lean to one side as she raised before catching her balance and trotting up to him with it in her pale jaws. she dropped it as his feet. "i'm gonna tell you everything there is to know about this rock now -- and if you run away you'll wake up with a bigger one on your tail!" 

not that dalia could lift a rock that large, but it was the threat that counted. 

"this is schist," she began, quite matter-of-factly.

ah, the ruse was over. sad. rannveig turned around, the cackle fading to a hearty giggle as he watched dalia inspect the stone. he padded up behind her, mirth still in his gaze as he watched her look over the land shark.

then she announced it was the most perplexing thing -- rannveig's ears twitched -- did he hear that right? this is shit?

he blinked, and adopting a rather sympathetic but knowing expression, spoke. "that isn't shit. that's a rock, bro."

what, did she really thing a walrus could poop out something that size? smh. silly dalia.

"no!" exclaimed dalia, a bit taken aback but a little disappointed in herself for not seeing the possibility of him reacting like that. of course. schist sounded like shit... she should've seen the joke coming. ah, well, moving. "schist," she repeated, slower and more drawn out for his peanut brain him, "it's a type of rock... and it's a type of metamorphic rock." dalia took a moment to pause and think of any connotations he might make that she'd have to correct -- ie. the shit for schist -- but she couldn't think of any, so she just moved on.

"this is a cool one too cause..." she flipped it over with a gentle umpf, revealing tiny little glittering specks in it, "it's got some quartz formed in it!" she looked up to rannveig, expecting to see a not at all interested look. like at all, but she didn't really care. her tail swung. "isn't this riveting, rannveig?" she pressed with a look that aired on the side of mischievous, though truthfully dalia had never been such a thing.

so, obviously it wasn't shit -- which rannveig had known, actually, all along.

he settled besides her as she exclaimed no, his gaze sweeping the ..rock.

it looked like any other rock to him, and as dalia went into great labors to explain the rock, rannveig was studying something else. her.

he could see what velen had seen in her, and as she turned around he straightened up with a firm nod, as if he had been so very dutifully listening all along. was it riveting? well..

"oh yeah, totally. it really rocks my world." he answered as stone-cold-sober solemnly as he could, a snigger escaping the end of his comment. "you could say i'll never take stones for... granite again."

cackling obnoxiously loud, rannveig skipped down the beach, happy to help (and listen) as dalia pointed out the intricacies of stones and rocks, showing him a world that frankly, he had never knew existed.