Ankyra Sound Walking on the edge of something bigger

Cadeau had spent the entireity of winter and most of early summer wandering these untamed wilds alongside Illidan, however her sense of adventure was beginning to dwindle, especially after that mess with the snake bite during a voyage they were on. She'd survived thanks to her partner's help, she was grateful to him and so with the annoucement he needed to return to Rusalka for duties of utmost importance, she couldn't bear to see him go. Cadeau felt she owed him her support, he'd been there for her in the moments she needed him and for her it was important she do the same for him. 

It was what partners were for. She'd studied the wolf packs in the area long enough now to get a guage for what she was getting herself into, though Cadeau wasn't sure what the future would bring. She would do her best to ride the rapids and come to terms with whatever was coming, it must be something her father would have wanted for her. Besides, she needed to be there for Illidan, she knew underneath all that tough hide was something hurting, she didn't understand the extent of it but she understood how deep a pain like it could go. Friends helped friends and that was the end of it. 

There was also the selfish fact she just wasn't ready to let him go yet, Cadeau pushed the sentimental thought for another day. Crossing into the border of the territory, Cadeau began this new step in her life. She was joining Rusalka.

the scent was familiar to him immediately upon catching it. he turned toward the border and set off at a steady lope in order to intercept his friend. it had been a moment since he’d last seen her, and with all of the drama that was taking place within the pack, he only hoped that she hadn’t gotten into trouble without him. she had wanted to venture out and see the other packs. illidan didn’t have time anymore for any of that. he was alpha, at least for that moment, and that meant that his duty was to the pack and to his members. he needed to be present for them. he needed them to know that he would not sit idly by and watch them fail.
 
as he neared the border, illidan drew his head up and barked to notify her of his approach. a ghostly smile creased his features and he drew his head upward. “cad! you decided to stop by the pack. you want to come in and see the place?” he offered her easily. she seemed fit enough. illidan could not see anything wrong with her, and this was a relief to the young man. he did not know if he could forgive himself, had she gotten hurt out there.

Cadeau couldn't deny she felt some nervous energy bundling in her stomach at being here, not because she didn't want to be there or that seeing Illidan gave her butterflies but more so the fact she wondered if she could really belong in this place of wolves. She'd braved the wilderness thus far and made some friends in her time out here but did it really translate into being a proper member of a wolf pack? She didn't dwell on the thought long as the familiar scent of sea and sand she associated Illidan with met her nose. There was a bark to announce him. Quickly she perked her head up, seeing the wolf gray as a storm itself had already found her first.

That was a relief, because she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do after technically trespassing. "Illidan!" She called back, meeting him halfway. She couldn't resist giving him a friendly bop on the nose with her own, it'd been sometime since she last saw her friend. "I'm sorry I didn't visit sooner, I kinda got lost," Cadeau apologized. "And sure, I'd love to see it. You said this place has a great beach side view, right?" She said to him with a grin, sickle-like tail arching over her back in delight. "How's leadership treating you?" She tipped her head to the side, Cadeau looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and concern. He was young still yet and she hoped the new position didn't mean he would be pushing himself too hard. Cadeau didn't know much about pack life but she was sure in any kind of situation leadership was a heavy cape to down as it were

cadeau saw him and moved to approach. he didn’t mind; she was welcome in his home. illidan had always wanted her to feel as though she had a place within rusalka, whenever she decided she wanted to settle down. he knew that she longed to visit the other packs, but he felt a little jaded at the idea that there could be anything more out there – anything better – than what they had to offer within the sound. at least there, he knew she would be welcomed by the others. it was a start to overcoming the insecurities that she carried regarding her mixed blood. all of that would take a good deal of time, but he had faith that she would learn her own value soon enough.
 
“it’s okay,” illidan assured her when she had apologized for not visiting sooner. he felt moderately responsible when she mentioned that she had gotten lost. the ghost could have provided her with clearer directions to his beachside property. “things have been… difficult here, lately. i would have gone out to meet you somewhere, but i’m needed inside the pack right now.” all of this was true, but he still felt guilty for having to put their journey on hold until he could resolve what was happening.
 
“i stepped into the alpha role recently…”
 
it did not feel as though it was the title that he was meant to carry. that was his mother’s place in their pack. illidan feared that he would never be able to live up to what she had created. he also feared that she would not have a home to return to, if she was ever found.

The halfling felt the beginnings of a concerned frown mar itself along her muzzle, Cadeau wondering just what happened that was causing struggle. She knew little of the happenings in the packs, having mostly looked into the basic components of what made a pack more so than the political side there surely was. "What kind of difficult?" Cadeau asked him, leaning back into her haunches. "And its fine, you should be here with your pack. You've already done more than enough for me."

He spoke of getting his feet into alphahood, a role Cadeau herself never understood but one she knew without a doubt was tough. She mostly worried about him pushing himself, that there was weight he wasnt ready to burden himself with. Though she never asked him of his age, she had her suspicions he was of her own age group and that meant young. She couldn't imagine herself at her age suddenly thrust upon a pedestal expected to lead a group. "You got a lot in your dog dish now then," she only said, pressing him to go on if he so wished. Cadeau would always listen. Cadeau looked at him, trying to paint a picture in her head of the severity of the situation. She may not be able to help him but she could at least be there to support him emotionally.

Cameo, feel free to get him involved if you want! Otherwise he's on his way out

Walking along the border was almost a daily event. Rubbing shoulders with the markers, seeing if anyone was going to be stupid enough to challenge the border and his somewhat authority over it if found on a one on one with the earth caked brute. He has yet to come across anyone on the border that needed his attention. Someone else was always already there, meeting with the stranger as Vengeance once did for joining among their ranks. 

Nothing all too exciting.

Especially now as the new Alpha spoke with someone. Off in the distance, Vengeance could only see the two figures where the scent was one of a strange female, and the other was Illidan. His presence wasn't needed as far as he was concerned - back on the routine elsewhere.

she must have found that statement interesting, because she looked to him and immediately asked what kind of difficulties they were dealing with. illidan stared back at her with a somber expression. it was a long story, he felt, and he still wasn’t sure of all the pieces or how they fit together. “things have happened that may threaten the safety of our home and the safety of my family, but i do not have all of the answers just yet,” he did his best to answer her, lowering his crown and glancing away. “for now, i’m doing what i can to remain present here.” in that moment, he felt as though it wasn’t enough. still, he knew that it was all he could do without leaving rusalka behind. all of it seemed so heavy. he did not know how he would make it through or even if he was making the right choices.
 
a heavy sigh passed through his lips, shoulders sinking with it. illidan did not even know how he was supposed to be a competent leader if all of those around him distrusted his choices and sought action on their own. he could not help but think of his sister and how angry she had been. surely, she was mad at him, but she wasn’t alone in that. he was young and he did not have the same knowledge as some of the others, but he did everything he could to keep things fair. if nothing else, at least he stood by his decisions and saw them through to the end. “we will see how long my place in leadership lasts. i fear that if they disagree with me any more, someone will come for my place,” he confided in cadeau with a soft growl.

Cadeau listened to him speak with intent ears and focused eyes, not looking away as she gave Illidan her undivided attention. The halfling furrowed her brows. "Oh," she murmured, still wanting to fish for details but it seemed even Illidan was fuzzy on the entirety of it, that was not a good sign. She tried smiling, as if it would bestow confidence to her friend. Cadeau didn't like seeing him unhappy, their friendship was young but she still cared plenty. All this stress wasn't a good look on him. 

Then he shared some heavier details and it made her skin crawl. Could someone really forcibly yank Illidan from his place like that? Cadeau frowned at the thought, Illidan had been the brains of the operation when they'd journeyed, she couldn't picture that Illidan could upset anyone when he had the skills to endure like he did.

And by anymore... did that mean something from within was already brewing? Cadeau shook her head and got in his space with a determined expression. "You always told me to ignore what others think about you," Cadeau said. "Don't let their words prick you like this." She was naive of course but she just yearned to be helpful to him for once, she felt useless. She couldn't fight his demons but she could barricade them with support and care. Cadeau continued her rather blind pep talk, not caring if they dripped with cliche and syrupy niceness to every other word, "I don't know much but I know you. You're the smartest and most clever wolf I know, you'll figure something out."

Cadeau paused a moment to collect her words and to let the previous ones sink in for Illidan. Nodding her head in an encouraging fashion, she pressed on with her words wrapped in iron and steel at their firmness. "Illidan, you can do it. Prove them wrong."

the words he’d used seemed to have troubled her for a moment. illidan’s hawkish gaze flicked to her features with a crease in his brow and a thoughtful frown having worked its way onto his dark lips. there was silence between them for a moment or two. he wondered if he had crossed too far and made her uncomfortable about stepping into rusalka. that had never been his intention. the ghost had only assumed that everyone had to endure the harshness that he had experienced. was it not natural to share these griefs with friends?
 
not until her answer sounded, did he think about how his words had come off. she stated that he was the cleverest wolf that she had met. this, he felt, was something that might not have spoken very strongly of her experience in the world. then again, cadeau had stuck around longer than he’d thought. she had done well to make a life for herself out there, in spite of all the fears that she had felt regarding the wilds. even the advice that she offered him was sound enough to have made sense, but illidan believed that his situation was too complicated to simply excuse it in that manner.
 
“it matters what they say about me when i’m intended to lead them,” the ghost returned to her in a sullen voice. his vision was pulled from her features and latched to the ground in front of him. he was leading them toward the blackpine inside the territory. “they should have faith in me and my ability, and when they don’t… that means i’m not a very good leader, cad,” illidan then explained to her with a shrug that he had hoped would seem nonchalant. instead, he simply looked bothered by all of it.

Cadeau worried that the words she spoke brought on more harm than good, the halfling feeling a pang within her breast. She took her lower lip between her teeth a moment to gnaw, trying to think of how she could help him. There wasn't much she could do, Cadeau realized with a disheartened little frown. But Sirius above did she wish she could help him... be there for him, even if all she had to give was empty handed promises and a shoulder to lean on. Even that it appeared she wasn't good at either, reading his face and listening to his words.

Illidan was strong and he was smart, Cadeau had seen the leader and provider often on their journey, a side she admired greatly in him when she first met him. Did he not see that he was capable of it? Cadeau wanted to show him that he had the ability to lead these wolves, of course who would believe the eyes of a besotted young woman? She was bias when it came to him, that she knew without a doubt, Cadeau shook her head. 

"Well... your reign is still young yet, Illidan." She smiled at him though she faltered, having a hunch the words she said weren't going to land like she wanted them to. He wasn't going to magically start feeling better because she said something. "You have time to show them. Nobody starts off good at everything. Even great leaders to-be, I'm sure." 

Cadeau gave him a comforting nudge with her muzzle against his shoulder after, pausing to look hopefully at him.