Arrow Lake darling you're wild eyed, empty & tongue tied

@Stigmata & any other Dissers! lmao. Jump in whenever! <3
Setting Morning, during her excursion.
Time Dated to 1/22/2019. Click for more info.

SHE'D BEEN RIGHT IN HER hunch: this was where Diaspora's claim may yet reside. The only reason her heart stuttered in this doubtful feat was because the terrain smelt and felt of Takiyok's essence -- composed, considering, and as profound as the Sunspires that cradled the mountainous gypsies. Along with this realization came another, incessant surge esteem at she'd been fortunate enough to bring the Centurion's blessing in tow. It was time to see what effects it would weild.

Even if the nomads' sentinels hadn't noticed her yet, she sent up an airy, trilling peal. The sound unfurled like borean veins tended to do for an evening visit; when the great earthen spires deemed to rift the Celestium open and invite them into never-ending Wilds. Her call was tinged with a hesitant fervency, and listed from her before her fangs clicked, bringing an end to her soliloquy.

And then she waited, doing what she could to rein in her qualms and anticipation for what was to come next; quiet and wavering on the hillock by the roaring, winter river. 

not many things crept upon the iron warden's border without his knowledge, or without his blessing. he had gathered vigilant wolves and @Mahler in particular had taken to scouring their front lines as the season for their competition lengthened and bloomed. he was looking for the mountain stag now - eager to challenge that hard look of steel lilac to a bit of twilit roughhousing - but a misshapen bit of white on the cusp of his realm caught the dragoon's feral eye; and he watched to see what it would do before making his own move.

the panther slunk closer as the ghostly figure cried her beckoning dirge into the frost-bound atmosphere, approaching with cat-like deliberation. though his march could be more likened to a funeral procession, when taking his grim expression into consideration. he stopped only when he had come within several bounds of the mannerly she-wolf, and it was at this nearness that he knew instantly who she might be.

that fur. those eyes. those scars. stigmata lifted his chin, unwilling to disclose immediately what he knew, or anything at all really. he just stood there, and looked at her rather expectantly. she obviously had something to say.

AURE WAS VIGILANT AS AN audience now attended her herald, and she looked undaunted into the expectant eyes of its general. Well, right to the proposition, then. "I come at ze expense of Takiyok's blessing, who has told me of your tending to my brother, Vonnaruil." She levelled inquisitive, quaint eyes to the wraith's, "I have arrived to give my thanks... and to beg you of more insight."

Whether Stigmata - for this must be him - condescended to her his knowledge of Vonn or otherwise, Takiyok's account hummed to her regardless if their leader withheld information. If he was as dignifed as his Centurion had been, she was certain that he wouldn't refrain from telling her.

And that, of course, rested on the prospect of how decorous she presented herself. So she waited, made herself patient, for Stigmata's repsonse. Eyes as bright and watchful as stars flickered over the attendees, her doe's ears feathering in courtly, appreciative finesse of their presence.

as courteous as her words were, stigmata could not help but feel irritated by the way in which she continued to meet his gaze - a challenge, in his realm of existence. he began to bristle crisply, and his lip curled with distaste. she was certainly related to vonn, he thought, whose decorum was remarkably similar, and it was this familial correlation in the end that would save her from the iron general's demanding nature.

"she said you would come," the wolf confirmed quietly. "i hope your brother tends towards honoring his word as well." stigmata narrowed his eyes upon her, and huffed impatiently. "vonn was here many suns ago, but the moon has not been full twice since his departure. i cannot tell you where he went, but i do know that and that he is looking for you, and that he owes me his life."

smdh @ my twins Stiggy sweetie im so sorry

SHE DIDN'T MISS THE CURLING lip or the stony hackles that quivered like disdainful brambles. Although she kept her face steady, an inner, narrow-eyed part of her was taken aback by this; perhaps it wasn’t Teekon custom to stare a lord in the eyes. What was she to do, then? Stare at the ground? Be compliant and meek, as she always tended to do? No. Her own hackles and tail were down, she did not come in a state of haughtiness, but in a very long-worn urgency. That should be enough.

But she cast her gaze unseeing over Stigmata’s face and instead studied at the crease of his forehead. Subtle, but not as... forward as supposed she came off as. So, she cast away any mullings in favor of what he had to say. Aure blinked at the bitter notion of honor, but her ears feathered at everything else after that.

So, he’d been here a little over a month ago, if that was what she could ascertain from the general’s. ”A life debt?” Her lips thinned, pursed together, and her eyes left his face entirely as she ruminated for a moment. ”When a debt is owed, it becomes a priority that he fixates himself with. Despite his... insouciant airs.” A faint frown tugged at her lips; which side of her brother would she find?

”You have my thanks, general. What you have given me is precious. I will do what I can to wield it well,” she mused, giving a mannerly cant of her head. Takiyok had already asked a favor of the skayona—she hoped that it would be repayment enough. Any further thinking on these subjects of honors and codes and oaths would wear her even thinner than she already was.

As she turned to make her leave, however, she suddenly stilled, wavering on the spot as if suddenly... fatigued, and was afraid to take another step in fear of listing. Meekly, she once again looked into Stigmata's gaze, voice repentant, "I... must also beg for some respite, if it is tolerable. It seems I haven't paid mind to my own exhaustion. May you permit me, please?" She cleared her throat softly, and then dropped her gaze once more; out of docility and feeling burdensome more than anything else. She despised requesting so much of others, and felt a tad ashamed for it.

he was assured of vonn's habitual trustworthiness and bid adieu in nearly the same breath, and stigmata would have been content to remain quiet and let her leave without so much as a "congratulations, you made it" if she had not been suddenly overcome with a case of the weak knees. the warhound stilled, preparing himself for a long night, when she turned quite simply and asked for relief from her long journey.

it took everything in him not to roll his eyes at the celestial twin, perhaps just as needy as her brother - if not more beautiful - but he had no reason to refuse her, especially given the lengths she had gone through to keep her word about visiting. this, coupled with the fact he could further gain vonn's servitude favor by assisting his own flesh and blood, made him sigh in relent. "you may stay but for a single day," he agreed gruffly. "i have had enough of wolves staying here without belonging to me, and i fear your own brother has taken most of my generosity with him." the wolf snorted, and motioned for her to follow.

"come to the trees, if you can make it. you may rest here."

THE MOON-PALE SKAYONA COULDN'T hide the sigh of easement that her thin shoulders curled with; nor could she refrain from letting her entire self from softening towards this epitome of generosity. ”Oh, a day to get my bearings is more than I could ask for... Mulțumesc.” And though her ears curled to hear the general’s plight, she didn’t respond right away, and instead followed his paw-steps.

Falling in-step with him, a respectable distance away, she lent, ”If my brother is still the wolf I grew up with, I can assure you — if I may be so bold — that he will repay such generosity with abundance.” A quiet curl tugged at her ivory, scarred lips as they passed the liminal line of light and shadow that took them further into the hinters. ”If it is a life debt he owes, I would not be surprised if he ferried several souls in return. He is... extravagant, you could say. Perhaps he will retain his sanity, and only bring three.”

And the general’s tone... had he had more contact with Vonnaruil than as faint Takiyok had let on? It wasn’t right to presume; all the same, though, her twin was as unashamed in physicality as she was in personality. Of course, it wasn’t in her to question Stigmata—not when he’d already allowed her into his lands, and let her spend the next day to recover.

he listened faintly to the moon-ribbed sylph, focusing more on finding her a spot well into the borders and opposite to where his pack slept, unwilling to impose on them more than he already had. this benevolence would soon be ending, given the season and his incessant need to compete, but her gender alleviated a good sum of the woes he had about having company again, and he knew if this were vonn's brother, he would not have shown the same hospitality.

"and if he presents me with less than three, what do i tell him then, hm? your sister lied to me? she said you would do better?" he drawled, coming to stop not far into the treeline - to a small winterworn copse where his comrades frequented, and where she would be surrounded by the deep scents of diaspora, that would ward off any smart creatures from adventuring this place.

"it sounds as if you have not even seen him for some time," he rumbled, having picked up on the phrase "If my brother is still the wolf I grew up with..." "why not boast about something you actually know," he invited her coldly; watching her with the pitiless, glittering stare of a snake, and motioning for her to take refuge in the area which she was allowed. then he reclined on his haunches, because he wasn't about to let a stranger go unsupervised on his premises.

ONCE SITUATED AT THE COPSE, she made to face him, even though his words gave her cause to halt. The skayona merely blinked, a slim brow quirking in mild pique; a thin tug of her lips made itself known as he continued. Aure instead reclined onto her coltish hocks, studying the coldness in his voice as she would with the iridescent flakes of winter. She allowed the frigidity to melt into her thoughts, and gazed back into those austere eyes with rabbit-soft ones of her own. Invitation accepted. "Mm, you are right. I have not seen my hanar for several months, you know. Then..." With her gaze cast heavensward, she then let herself enter the embrace of the Celestium, whole and bare and with her soul.

"I suppose I may... boast, as you said, about ze stars. I know ze way that will lead me to ze home that is my kru. I know that they will guide me to Vonnaruil, one way or another. I know that ze constellations, no matter what part of this world I wander, will remain devoted to them... as I am to they. We are a part of each other. I know it in ze very essence of my soul."

Looked, with eyes that became full of whimsy, into the endless that was peirced forever by earth-made spires. Teekon's constellations have become familiar; as familiar to her as the dreamy, heady nooks of her own mind. And yet, fleeting and coy, they quiver behind the skirts of sunlight; Aure undresses herself to them, makes herself naked. And then her soul bathes within the Celestium as if she were a woman dancing unclad within the Mediterranian. "We died twice, that night. Once in ze waters and what they gave us; and then again, in ze gloam. They were there as I was reborn beneath them; they were there when my brother was reborn in shadow. All I can do is to let them make me their own, and to let them to see me as I see them."

Face full of chimerical rapture, her lashes fluttered as she looked back up into Stigmata's face, lips parted softly as a docile breath wisped from her lungs. Clung to his mountain-made gaze, if only to tether herself back Here, leaving her Home, her Celestium behind. In several more blinks, she regarded the general with a softhearted regard, an enigmatic smile faint and rare at her lips once more. "What is it that you would boast of?" There was a teasing, lilting edge to her tone; she hadn't forgotten his chilling challenge. 

She thought her anger would dull as the days passed, but every morning she woke knowing the hooded woman was still alive and keeping her family from her deepened her contempt until it began to fester and grow toxic. But she would be patient--plan her next move and one day, Taki would make her pay. 

Stigmata's scent pulled her from her silent stewing, and she tracked the smokey man through the territory, intent on explaining her wishes so that she could hear the opinion of one of the few wolves she trusted, especially since his opinions wouldn't be tainted by rage. When she neared the border, another scent mixed with the Diaspora leader's trail, and Taki recognized it as belonging to Aure. She didn't need to question why the woman was here; clearly she had come searching for information on her own family. It seemed her talk would have to wait.

When she finally found the pair, she trotted towards them, chuffing quietly and slowing as she came to Stigmata's other side.

she took him more literally than intended, but the fallen angel's sweet and equally as foreign sister did not bore stigmata with her starry tale. she showed great pride in the things she cared for, and the smokehound sat listening, a favorite past-time of his. he loved stories more than anything, but hadn't heard one in a long time - and this wasn't so much a story as it was a collection of the things that made the celestial twin happiest. the last part about dying certainly confused him, a fact clear upon his crooked stone expression, but he remained quiet as she looked to him then, and asked what it was he wanted to boast of.

stigmata's eyes flashed. the night was not long enough to hear of all things he thought himself great at, and besides this they suddenly had company. "takiyok," he sighed, relaxing further with the centurion's arrival. second only to mahler, he could not ask for more comforting company. he looked at her, and seemed to sense something had unsettled her. "we have a guest until tomorrow," he said right away, nodding in the small she-wolf's direction. "i will be down here until she is gone." so unless she wanted to say what she had to say in front of aure, then it would have to wait until he was done babysitting.

THE LITTLE, FOX-LIKE CURL OF her lips only made itself more apparent as Stigmata’s eyes flared; had the Centurion arrived any later, her cheeks may have outright dimpled in modest mischief. As it was, the snowy Diaspore traipsed into view, and her breath of greeting cinched her weary claws into Aure’s attention; but the little quirk of her lips remained. ”Dimineaţă,” she trilled graciously, her scarlet-webbed face immediately melting into warm benevolence. 

If she wasn’t so ignorant to how others belittled her — and as equally oblivious of her own wide-eyed approach to rhetorical questions — Aure may not have grown to be the overly-giving, unnatural she-wolf she was today. Nor would she have regarded the pair with such familiarity, despite having only just met either; regarding them as old friends, instead of on a more formal basis. Nor, then, would she have further greeted Takiyok with, ”Your hospitable general was just going to tell me about all of ze things he excels at,” but she did, all the same. To say Aure took others’ words more literally than intended wasn’t even close to an understatement.

In nearly the same moment, she, too, took notice of how Takiyok had withdrawn into herself... so, ever the appeaser (at least, she tries to be), the ivory kru mused, ”I’m sure ze Stigmata must have many looms to weave; I wonder how intricate they are.” Fawn-soft eyes creased with refined cheek at the male, before flickering over the Centurion’s graceful, hardy form. ”It is lovely to see you again, doamna mea. I am so glad-“ she entreated, for she was, ”-to see you are in good health.”

"This couldn't have been possible without your blessing." Her attentive gratitude leaned in towards the both of them, even as her body remained reclined back; simply smiling with a hushed sort of animation and eyes twinkling like stars. 

She nodded a return greeting to stigmata as he explained the Aure would be staying with them for a day. Taki raised an eyebrow at the Drageda woman. Putting yourself further in our debt? she asked, not to disapprove but the understand how she felt so comfortable owing them even more, especially when her brother had yet to make good on his own debt.

Her gaze flicked between the two of them as Aure announced what they had been discussing. I see. Well, that should keep you guys busy for a while, she answered, unable to refrain. 

She nodded in response to the woman's appreciative words, thinking them unnecessary. She understood what it was like to have your family's fate be unknown, and she had simply offered useful information. Aure had already agreed to owe her for sharing that information, and so Taki didn't really need the excess gratitude. 

I'll be on my way, then, she stated, not seeing a real reason to stick around since it was clear Stigmata was willing to tell the other woman what he knew about the free-loader. She turned, pausing to nod at the Diaspora leader. I'll talk to you later, she said before moving to head back the way she had come, unless stopped.