Sunspire Mountains cause i can't let go

okay, keeping location vague b/c i couldn't pick one. also keeping company vague in case @Pihu or @Pygmalion decide to join at some point. 
edit: also taggin @Awol, just in case he wants to come along for this (possible) scouting trip.

did she have friends? real, actual friends? bhediya couldn't help but hold a giddy smile as she left the emberwood. there was so much to say, so much to tell, and for the first time in a long time, she actually had someone to share with. 

pygmalion, he was her mate, but things were... complicated. kavik, he was mourning, so hearing about her luck probably wasn't his first choice. and pihu, well, she already knew it all. ibis knew too, obviously, so reiko probably had an idea; normally, this list would have exhausted her options.

but, by some divine will, bhediya had friends! she avoided the mount between courtfall and uaine gorsedd, instead opting for an alternate route. @Andraste would be the first to know, simply based on her proximity. from there, if there was time and pyg allowed it, she would go to blackfeather and visit @Maegi.

oh, joy!

Reprieve beneath starlight;
they offered not the guidance that she might have sought, once upon a time, but heartsickness to the errant pieces of her, strewn about in the inked, boundaryless in-between; thin comfort only known when the heavens bled black over itself, and the faint traces of constellations all pressed past her marked hip; shivers; the hurt kept therein is muffled, muted beneath Undómiel's march from the twilit hinter of the feyringed keep; the shrouded male seen to and what novel finds within the vale found.

Dark lashes come together as she allows the frostchill to cleave throughout; once upon a time had this felt so similar. And yet this realm was not Rhaesuial; these spires not not her Tines — hers was a world of ice and snow, and the sentinel, green-grey needles held aloft to a pale, northern sun. More.

It is during this listing reverie that the curled druid so forms before her very sights; and she smiles, perhaps her third  (her fourth?)  and chirrups unto the boundless Bhediya, if only to gather her attentions. Had the sibyl come to wend her way to the stricken's Court, again of proposition?

bhediya would have to ask maegi if jaes could teleport wolves. seriously. as though she'd been called for, andraste graced the scene. a chirp was sounded, immediately pulling bhe's attention. andy! she exclaimed, only afterward wondering where the moniker'd come from.

oh, well. i was on my way to come find you because i just, i need to tell someone! as bhediya moved to close the distance between them, her fast-wagging tail beat nearly hard enough to knock her over. it was like watching a child after their first successful hunt, but she didn't care.

then, she regained her senses. first, how are you? bhediya levelled her tone and fought against a smile, but couldn't help the latter. it's been a while since my last visit.

Andy;
how long had it been, truly, since such an informal title? Always had it been Aurëwen, then; Andraste, now; never a moniker of either that she could remember up until this point. So there is a hesitant lifting of a muted, somnolent heart; a paltry glow that is brought with the female companionship which she is both familiar and so unfamiliar to. The frenzied darkling is infectious in all of her glee;
but before the fée is able to ask after all that her elder has been concerned with, Bhediya dashes aside her own telling and instead inquires of the silver.  "As well as winter allows me to be,"  wisping a smidgen wry,  "and ever awaiting many visitations of you and yours. But,"  wondering, now,  "I suspect that these events have kept you from doing such?"

Of course, she meant all in the way of gentled teasing;
nevermind her features a tad gauzy, listless than usual; but for the sake of Bhediya would she muster herself into the present.

Pihu follws her sister gleefully, proud to have purpose in her footsteps foreign to aimless wandering, to aimless searching. She has at last found her long lost sister, her smile barely waning as they make their cold trek to the sunspire. Every so often she flashes her smiling face toward bhe, hoping to share the love she feels for her sister, for their circumstance. 

In an instant the pale formation of a beautiful snowy female appears, and while she has yet to encounter this woman (and although bhediya addresses her with a name that somehow seems informal) pihu lowers her snout slightly in reverance. Bhe had told her a bit about this woman, but as with most things, pihu must see to understand. She wavers a moment, periwinkle eyes flitting from her kin to this pallid woman.

Hello, she begins by way of respect. You may know, but I am pihu, bhediya's sister. I decided to tag along this visit. she ends with a timid smile, then quiets herself to make way for conversation between the other two.

assuming it's just pihu and bhe then <3

friends, perhaps, but their pre-established relationship was wholly professional. bhediya did not want to risk the latter in attempting to reach the former. thus, a proper introduction was due. pihu, she began, this is andraste. she leads courtfall, a pack in the mountains. bhe nodded toward the spires that hid the western plains. 

i've been meaning to come back, but pygmalion, he's been strict. thoughts of the mate she'd left in the emberwood threatened to damper the mood, so bhediya quickly whisked them away. there's pack business to discuss, of course, but i'm just here as a friend. doubt. we're friends, i think. the tone of her voice indicated the need for a response.

The uncertain undertones within Bhediya's words stall Undómiel's acknowledgement towards the chaicoated sister — and the words are of female companionship, of friendship. So few had she plied another with such a word; surely fierce Blodreina and fervent Isleña; perhaps snowswhite Takiyok, perhaps honeyed Ketzia, had she not enraged them in her foolsdoing; perhaps the greenseer Speedy, perhaps the queensmother Hydra, had she not flit from pack and forsaken another her parley.

Was there to be such a one found in this sibyl and, someday, her sister?

"Ja,"  the fairylight wisps delicate after a moment's wonder,  "We are her ... friend,"  as if given something to cradle and to look upon that she would not have ever expected. Still there is the predicament of when to cast off the veil of formality, and when to don the mantle of it;
but the smile is an almost timid thoughtfulness; not the rare resplendence as before, but a mere budding which again she looks to Bhediya with.

Pihu remains starstruck as her periwinkle gaze drifts between her sister and the angelic, powdered sugar of a woman. There seems to be mild debate between them, a silent question of their friendship. Her eager Bhe welcomes the thought of more friends, and the pale fae seems not resistant, but perhaps hesistant instead.

all speculation aside, pihu warms the trio with a smile. This encounter seems like it will become beneficial to the pack she shares with her sister, and it brings the autumn furred woman happiness. She holds her tongue, hopeful that her mere demeanor will bring a positive influence to the visit

the topic was beginning to feel drawn out. bhediya continued onward toward the vale, assuming that both women would follow. it wouldn't be long before they reached their destination, she thought. courtfall is still thriving, i would assume. andraste was beautiful, but she was not devoid of wisdom. bhe wondered if she'd ever met someone with a mix of both, and to such a degree!

we're still open to an alliance, if your pack is interested. being cordial was one thing, but she wished for more. a conversation with ibis would still be necessary, but as a leader, she didn't think that asking for permission was such a necessity. that is, if things went as planned.

By the druid's leave, the fée fell alongside; minikin inkling and starlit with the fawnhide to follow, and so the trio began to tread their way back from whence Andraste had only just departed. But, no matter — for though it would not be quarry that Undómiel would be toting in her return, her little endeavor had proved to not be in such vain. Humility, at Bhediya's assumptions; then, happiness;
near inscrutable yet there, in the faint arch of shorn brow that was write upon an otherwise-composed countenance.  "As are mine. But, please,"  she lent,  "allow me to to permit our interest as apology, as well. I would have rather liked to attend your borders after I had heard ze claimant, and have not yet given my own congratulations."  Again, humbled; then,  "What might ze terms of ze Uaine be, should we have an accord?"

Wonders if those regulations might be likened to what the musiker had made sound of script; of hunt, perchance they ever find those elusive beasts?—
aways what distraction from her sights as she awaits all and any responses.

pihu is pretty much cameo, feel free to skip if needed! :)

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the autumn woman proceeds to recline upon her haunches richly watching the women speak and not without exceeedingly piqued interest. She has little part to play here other than accompanying her sister upon the arduous and potentially dangerous trek, and to display her own kind and enghusiastic demeanor. Her lips are sealed as the conversation seems necessary only between andraste and Bhediya.

okay! jump back in whenever <3

the question prompted bhediya to consider facets of their potential agreement that had gone previously neglected in thought. the pursing of her lips and furrow of her brow acted as visual indications of her effort to conjure an answer. a moment of silence passed between the three of them, for which she offered them both and apologetic glance.

extra defense in conflict, which she doubted would ever be required, and hunters, for when the herds return. between the two of them, bhediya was sure that they had more than enough experienced huntsmen. she hoped that courtfall did, anyway, because she didn't know of many at uaine gorsedd.

perhaps courtfall did lack hunters, in which case merging their forces would be all the better! bhediya gave herself silent congratulations. does this work for you? what were you hoping to get? she wasn't sure what more they could give, so if andraste had any ideas, she did hope to hear them.

"I am afraid to admit that our Court only has a single enlisted hunter,"  Andraste might have flushed to admit this in the presence of sisters; but her features had perched onto the ponderous thought of how, exactly, to compensate for it, then—  "When ze time comes, however, I am certain that those who are not will bring themselves forward to participate."  And if Undómiel must be one amongst her people to do so as well, then she would do so without hesitation or qualm. As far as her own terms went ... 
"I ask for a trade system, of sorts, of medicinal stores between our packs,"  cloudthick sights alighting upon the sable sibyl,  "if there should ever come a time to ration, we might then bolster our keepings, at least, a tad. And if there is an overabundance ..."  but, she soon shook her brow; perhaps it was very too much to ask, as of yet. Instead:
"Forgive me. Perhaps instead — our Court will permit any of Uaine, should they need tending to. Might this be more agreeable?"

it wasn't unexpected by any means. like attracted like, and andraste seemed more of a scholar than a brute. bhediya nodded in agreeance, a small smile twisting at the corner of her lips. it's the same for uaine gorsedd. plenty of scouts, but not many hunters. that's why coming together is a good idea, i think. 

andraste continued to speak so bhediya listened. a medicinal share? it was a foreign concept, but as it was further explained, she thought it sounded quite attractive. her first thought was reiko and how much she might enjoy such a deal. no, no, keep explaining! bhe said, i think that shared herb caches are a great idea.

The first of agreements seemed to be in order, now; it was the second, however, that Andraste again felt herself fidget beneath the focus that had come to rest upon her as before. She would not allow herself to fret now, though  (nevermind doing so regardless)  as she sought to mince her words again again again:

"Well,"  a great effort in an of itself, this speaking so plain!  "I suppose, for example ... wonder that Uaine has been sorely depleted of a particular property or other. A scout, or ze herbalist themselves, could make a ... a visiting to Courtfall, and so we would reach an agreement of how much ze Uaine may take. Repayment might be ze giving of something that my own herbalists would be missing, or, also, there could be, ah ... how do you say? Excursions for properties, but our healers, together?"

The silver prays that this would be sufficient; 
a tad winded from how such concentration had gone into simple-speech.

there weren't many words that prompted the questioning of bhediya's english profieciency, but excursions was certainly one of them. she searched her brain for a homophone in either tongue but came up empty-handed, in the end deciding that it probably wasn't that important. well, she hoped not, at least.

bhediya waited for andraste to finish speaking. that'll be useful this winter. i'm no healer, but i do know it's been hard to find the good stuff. later in the season, she assumed pregnancies would be carried out in both territories, yielding pups come spring. busy work for the caregivers, she was sure.

does that settle it, then? the scout sure hoped so, because all of this professional talk was taxing to her psyche.

Thankfully, the dark druid complied to the terms of fumbling Andraste; who gave a solitary nod of agreement upon such requirements needed to respond to the demands of this winter and further. For whelping, and those that would be born from it; the stricken banished all other thought for a kinder look upon Bhediya; likewise for the burnished sister.  "Should your turukāno find our terms suitable, Uaine will have a relation with my Court."

The tell-tale spires, now within sight; the fée began to tread forth, but faltered upon another thought:  "In ze meantime, should you need assistance or mist enquire after any-thing, you are more than welcome to visitng us for such."

wrapping?

bhediya turned back to look at pihu. it was a gaze similar to those that they'd shared in childhood, one sorta like told ya so!, but without all of the ego. she'd leveled the playing field with awol, then feeling more confident in their competition. 

actually, bhe replied, would it be okay if we stayed for the afternoon? if not, we can camp somewhere else. snow was everywhere, so it didn't really matter whether they slept inside or outside of the veil. for the most part, her interest was in the promise of companionship (and food).

sure o:

A request;
one which Andraste was glad to acquiesce. With a murmur of yet another agreement, Undómiel invited the the blackberry and peach sisters to her side; allow both to stay within her misted realm for as long as they needed to recuperate for the trek back.