Wheeling Gull Isle To the strand a picnic plan for you and me

76°, currently it is sunny and clear and set during midday. Located in wheeling gull isle, | ooc notes: keeping his meeting with Guildenstern vague for now! | tagging: @Rhælla

He had spent a little too long on the mainland. After meeting with Guildenstern, he had taken too long to ponder over his brother and too long to decide if he was happy with his plan to bring back to Rhælla regarding any pack hunts - in order to ease up on the prey on the island should the pack grow in number.

Deciding to swim back as opposed to waiting for the landbridge to re-appear, he made it back sooner that way at least. Dripping wet, the heavy down of his coat grabbing onto the liquid and hugging his muscular frame as it dribbled down every smooth curve. The bright sun and heat of the day would dry him fast enough, but for now, as the fatigue of the swim and the extra weight on his back from retaining saltwater demanded him to take a seat for now on the white sandy beach.  

Liquid honey eyes taking a quick look around. For a moment he wondered if his presence was even missed at all - maybe everyone was just too busy getting the island ready to even notice.

He was missed. 

Weary and worn, even in toil and preparation - conducted with silent pride - pale wraiths danced on her peripherals. Each beckoning the glance of eager lilac, only to find shadows and trickery. He was never truly there - the brute of ice she called confidante, ally. Unbidden, her mind tiptoed to his return, oft with concealed anxiety.

The rains had passed and sunlight triumphed once more, the heat of the day thickening beneath the canopy of Longshore suffocatingly; the humidity trapped within the forests pushed her to the fringes of their Isle for reprieve as the sun approached its zenith. 

The claustrophobia of the balmy air dissipated as the nightwisp reached the Beach, slowing to a trot as she pulled deep lungfuls of replenished air into the slim cave of her chest. The girl padded amongst the dunes, following a path that was beginning to become familiar - a trail that allowed her to wander over the outermost reaches of her newfound home, searching for sign of any breach. The Landbridge was the only access point yet, the exile wanted to ascertain that none had swum ashore. 

The dark woman had only just settled into her patrol, loping along the southern shores of the island, when a pale silhouette blinked into existence on the horizon. A prickle of fear, of dread, pierced her - thinking it yet another trick of the light, to be blamed upon the curse of her half-blinded state.

Still, she hastened forwards to investigate regardless, on the off chance it was a threat. Ears pricked forward (or at least best she could manage with her ragged, ruined aud), tail raised proudly - the aspiring Lady drew near with intrigue brimming in her amethyst orb. 

Just as quickly, her bravado was lost - a beaming smile lifting her lips as her dark plume wagged with unrestrained joy and relief. 

He was home! He was safe! He was home!

"Rosencrantz," the young woman greeted softly, with a demure dip of her star-speckled crown - somehow managing to appear somewhat calm. Even so, the dark Seelie could not withhold herself completely - daring to step forward and brush her cheek against the pale hollow of his throat. 

It is fleeting, vaguely uncertain as she's not sure how he'll accept it, but it speaks the silent language that her tongue cannot: I missed you. 

"How was your trip?" Rhæ asks as she pulls back, retreating a step to meet his molten gaze with a soft smile - cheeks heating beneath her nite peltage.

Even if his expression rarely changed, that the stoic man never seemed bothered - sitting alone on the beach did give him a heavy heart. Even if Rhælla had appointed him as their tactician, a high enough rank, did it matter to others since he had only truly met... two of them officially. Rhælla and Connor.

With a sneeze, he forced the saltwater out of his nostrils, shaking his head violently to get rid of any extra water. Once he opened his eye once more, the image became clear - the lady of the lands was coming near, at a pretty rapid pace. Her original stance caught him, believing he was going to be reprimanded for being away for so long. Sitting still, he prepared for what she would say - but instead... 

Lady Rhælla. Even if the sun was warm against his back, he felt... warmer than that when she brushed her cheek against him. As if the sun was warming him from the inside. He had felt much in his time on this earth, but that, that was different and unexpected. Not knowing how to react, he simply brushed it off, allowing his eye to drift away as if that would help calm the warmth that was brewing inside. 

Longer than expected... I found my brother on the mainland. Whatever that means to the siblings, only the future will tell (keeping this totally vague LOL @Guildenstern). Have I missed anything while away? He focused on the topic at hand, away from that feeling that bore deep in his belly. 

But he was relieved most of all, relieved that she seemed glad that he was back. One in the welcoming party was more than enough, especially from the Lady herself.

The girl's dark features blazed, glimpsing something in Rosencrantz's amber optic - something akin to pleased surprise - and her own gaze jumped away, following suit. 

A small smile curled over her lips at the sound of her future title, somewhat flustered by the use of it - she'd have to acclimate to that. 

At his news, her brows ticced upwards in surprise, unaware that he had a brother. "That's wonderful," she trilled joyously, thinking of her own twin with a stab of pain. "Are you close?"

"I'm afraid there isn't much to report - we've been preparing the Isle," she grinned, tired but content. "The borders are coming along nicely and the caches are dug, not to mention gardens for herbs - with luck, we might have a harvest before the cold seasons."

"Connor and I have explored the island rather thoroughly; we located caverns that would serve for functions and dens. There are a number of suitable places but I'm not sure where people will prefer to sleep - in a communal location or in private dens." She shrugged her shoulders lightly, brows furrowed as she made a mental note to ask around. 

"There's a number of food sources here: seals, sea lions, sea otters, fowl and seabirds, small game, and scores of fish," that gave her cause for a chuckle. "There's even a herd of blacktails but we'll likely have to hunt them soon, they're getting antsy about our presence."

"We've begun to fill the caches with food and medicine but a pack hunt would help to stock the foodstores before foundation," she added with a tilt of her starry head. 

"What about you? Did you find anything else besides your brother?" She asked with a grin, wondering silently what had drawn him away for so long.

The brushing of their pelts, the slight touching here and there - even if he believed it was just how she was with everyone, that he was not special, he felt awkward. Not in a negative way, but simply as how a highschool boy would feel around their first real crush. Uncertain on how to approach, how to act around them, the accidental touching of hands. If it was just a fleeting feeling or actual affection. For a man far past those days, Rose has had no experience in such a thing; uncertain of its truth or if he was reading into things a little too much.

Hardly. We grew up only knowing war. He left earlier than I did, as soon as he was old enough. We know who we were. Back then, back when battling was everything. When the lead even between puppies, brothers were important rather than playful banter. That the dominant of the two would receive perks for being better than the other at any given time. 

With a light sigh, he was somewhat pleased to hear that nothing major has gone down since he was away. It seemed they had gotten a lot together during his time away too, which was encouraging. Not quite, I was trying to figure out the best way to bring food back here from out there - without stressing our native source too much. I thought perhaps of having a pack hunt while the bridge is up and bring back as much meat as the group can carry and stock it away before the bridge vanishes again.

Especially with her already certain that the local deer are preparing to leave after the wolves had claimed their lands, the sea beasts would be all they have left. I even mused with the idea of getting a familiar... a bird to carry news from the shore back to the island.

Again that sadness tugged at her heart, thinking of him young and lost and thrust into bloodshed. "Mayhaps you'll learn each other once more, it's never too late to reconcile," she murmured hopefully, truthful in her wish that he have someone of familial blood, kin, to lean upon. 

"I had the same thought - it seems like the only way to accomplish it," she agreed, having come up short with any other way of transportation. "I thought we might try fashioning... iēdar issi?" She transitioned falteringly to her mother tongue, uncertain of the proper translation. "Something to pile the meat upon and push over water or drag over the bridge."

"That's not a bad idea," she pondered with a grin. "My Muñnykeā spoke of ravens carrying messages in her homeland - corvids of clipped tongue who'd been taught to speak." 

Her nose crinkled slightly at the thought of harming an innocent creature needlessly yet the youthful leader could see the benefits in it.

We can end this in your next post if you'd like! My muse for Rose is lit with his new temper lmfao

Hopefully. He sighed the word softly between ivory fangs. Face softening as he thought about what would Guildenstern be up to now. From their meeting, Rose was certain he had left Birserkir's life behind for a new one, finding a use for his strengths as Rosencrantz did in a creative way. The brother didn't seem too keen on finding a place to call home - perhaps he hasn't found the right one to make that thought more comforting. He hoped the silver-clad male would find someone to break down those walls built up from their homeland, too. 

Tilting his head to one side, honey hue gazing onto the night whisp as to figure out what she had just said. The word was foreign to him, it seemed she too had more than one tongue to speak with. As she continued, his curiosity was quenched, the explanation came swiftly and his head found its rightful place on his spine once more. We'll come up with something. 

Clipped tongue? I'm certain we can find a way to persuade some local birds to feed off our kill in exchange for their services and kinship.

Taking strides forward, he looked over his shoulder to invite Rhælla to join him, to walk with him this time as opposed to what they had before, during the hunt and even when she lead to find the island - this time, he wished to walk side by side. I wish to see this area you found for dens. With a quick tilt of his broad head, he motioned inward into the island, still, his pelt wet from the swim but he paid no mind. Tracing his lips, was a warm, boyish smile he had never had before. His eye, bright and filled with joy as he gazed into the darker woman.

The warmth continued to spread from before, he could feel it and welcomed it with an open embrace for once.

She nodded in agreement, certain that they would manage to get at least the majority of any kill back to the Isle - no matter which tactic they used. 

His skepticism caused laughter to burst from her lips, nodding along  as her eye crinkled with mirth. "Aye, I thought it a wild tale too," she admitted with a little shake of her head and a doubtful snort, who'd ever heard of a chattering bird? 

"Come," she beckoned eagerly as Rosencrantz expressed his desire, dancing backwards to whirl on dark paws. The celestial picked up a jaunty trot - not wanting to push him after a tiring journey but more than excited to show him their discovery - as her lavender gaze darted back over her shoulder now and again, as if to assure herself that he truly followed.