Northstar Vale gregorian chants to calm me

@Aiolos

the sun was at its highest, beaming over the mountain peak. kalika studied the beams as they fell through the canopy, dancing atop the snow that blanketed the vale. it was beautiful, but held no comparison to the coastal sunrises she'd seen. with a sign, she descended from her perch and began a stroll toward the border.

later, she would seek out andraste for conversation. until then, kalika was resigned to making herself busy as best as she could.

It was the following afternoon, the sun high in the sky and dancing over the mountains. Within the Vale, the snow glistened over the fields, the dotting of small lakes and ponds all nearly frozen over, the trees bare and broken. Beautiful and yet, deadly still. 

Aiolos roused. As many nights he was up, the Moon Mother to guide him on his ventures. But the sun beckons him, burns his fiery coat aflame and he lifts from the rocks he laid upon. With a stretch, he bounds, making his way on throughout the territory... and he spots her. It is the dusty woman from the night before. It is Nereides. He could have rushed off and away, but there would be no avoiding her for long and, why should he? This is what he wanted, wasn't it? 

He makes a woofing noise to alert her, allow her to know she was not alone and as practiced, as he had done many times before, Aiolos crown fell low between his pillars of front legs. His ears fall back, eyes averted and tall down. Greetings to you, siren...

the voice stopped kalika where she stood. it was that of a man, not a woman but he knew to use the title of a nereid. was this the wolf she'd been waiting for, the one who andraste had mentioned? she sighed, finding the weight of this disappointment heavy on her shoulders.

ποιος είσαι? she asked. it was a direct challenge to test how insubordinate these lands had made him. kalika enjoyed watching him posture, but knew that it meant nothing if only a display. you can stand. she gave him a once over and took a moment to gather her thoughts.

The woman stops suddenly to his call, her eyes locking upon him and a sigh of what seemed of obvious dissatisfaction slipping from her lips. His ginger ears still pressed to his skull and yet they twitched, listening to the exotic tongue of the island wolves. Aiolos. He speaks quick, answering her and as permitted but a moment later, lifts his head up high once more. He shifts his footing, taking to his full height and fiery eyes look to her face (though not making eye contact) as she looks him over. He burns with question, much as he had when he found @Caiaphas at the Sound. He holds his tongue though as he knows better then to directly question her without allowance.

kalika was different from her sisters in that she did see some use in the males. they had something that the women didn't, something that interested her more than watching them slave. 

the siren maintained her serious expression but allowed her body language to soften. she settled into a lounging position and motioned for aiolos to do the same. you speak our language, kalika hummed, and i see how you carry yourself. you know my sisters, then? 

she awaited his response before continuing. don't be so tense. it's insulting. although absolutely serious, she added a laugh onto the statement for embellishment. as a yearling, she'd enjoyed playing the game of seduction, but age had weathered her patience. the consort would hear her proposition and either accept it, or deny.

Her expression, a deep and dark blue like the ocean depths,  remained a hard stare upon him and yet her posture lacked, no longer aggressive. She settled down and after a motion for him to do the same, he lowered into a sit on his haunches before her. I do. I was taken to live amongst them from a yearling.  He speaks and then, after this, she tells him not to be so tense - that it insulted her. One had to walk on eggshells when it came to Nereides women. Some demanded a much more obedient display whilst others wanted them to act a bit more normal, as though to make conversation not so fake so as long as the men just remembered that the females were ranked above them. To some island women, it was as an Alpha speaking to a subordinate. To others, it was a master speaking to a slave. 

Sorry, He first spoke and after stretching out his toes on the cool earth, Some Nereid require much more submission then others, as you know. And taken as a rowdy teenager, he knew all to well the same. Will other Nereid be joining your travel here, or have you ventured alone? He tested her patience on being questioned, wondering about the comment she had said to Andraste, that they had been forced to leave their island.

aiolos, he was entertaining. kalika grinned as he challenged her with his questions but remained silent on the matter. they were on neutral territory; she had to have some respect for the common culture. οι αδελφές μου μπορεί να είναι δύσκολες. the siren adjusted herself to reveal the run of her underbelly. θα υποβάλλετε, αλλά όχι με αυτόν τον τρόπο.

kalika preened the fur lining her thigh, outstretching her legs and widening their span for the consort's pleasure. i hope that they follow, she sighed. it had been some time since she'd left the coast, yet she was still alone. one could only pray that the others would return as well. do you think that you will follow? kalika steadied her gaze on aiolos then, a silent plea for honesty.

The siren woman lays to her side, relaxing even to show her delicate belly to him. She states that her sisters could be difficult and that he would yet still submit, but in other manners. Each woman of course, was different and learning what each one expected if him was equally difficult. 

Aiolos dips his cream lined muzzle down at her words, whispering out in their language. θα υποβάλω με οποιοδήποτε τρόπο θέλετε. The words are scratchy, clipped, revealing an obviousness he was born a foreigner from their lands. I have a debt to the Nereides for saving my life. And he felt as though he were bound by it and yet could not help but feel the pit in his gut. Living without the command of the Nereides left him at odds. He felt without command, he had no direction and yet, without direction, had the freedom to wander as he pleased. He knew he could never live under the ruling of a man again, but would he walk into essential slavery again too? At odds, he bites his tongue when she asked if he would follow them, should they regroup. 

I... The fiery wolf hesitated, her gaze locked to him and, without realizing,  he looked directly back into those pleading, dark depth eyes. I dont know. He speaks honestly, wondering if his possible treason would mean her vengeance upon him. I came here with a group, seeking a noble lost at sea we'd lost.The destructive quakes caused my separation from them. It has been almost two full Moons since loosing them. I have traveled to Sea a few times since then, but I've not found them. Only but one Nereid I've met. She has lost her way, however...believes the way of the Nereides are doomed for failure on these seas. That many have come and many have been lost. Aiolos explains himself fully to her, his front legs sliding forward, closer to her, so that he may lay down, undersides on the cool grasses.

aiolos answered honestly, earning him momentary respect. the nereides had known many consorts, afraid to speak their own minds. kalika thought that it made them weak, unworthy of a siren's loins. many have been lost, she sighed, it's.. not always an easy adjustment. she looked at him then, leaning downward to meet his gaze. our lifestyle is very unconvential.

kalika smiled, hoping aiolos would do the same. i want you to be my consort this season. she gave him a once over to gauge his reaction before continuing. you may decline, if you wish.

It is... Aiolos openly agrees to her at the mention of their ways being 'unconventional'. Of course, it is not my place as a male to question it, but some tradition of the Nereides I dont think I'll ever be able to cope with. He would have held his tongue to some in speaking such manner, but the sea fairing woman before him seemed much more laxed then others. Maybe it was because they were no longer within a tribe of Nereides where she felt the need to look down upon him with disdain and show herself to her sisters. Aiolos wasnt  sure, wouldn't know, he guessed, not unless they found themselves among them again. 

It was, however, good to speak to someone who not only understood where he came from, but was a part of where he came from. He needed not struggle to try and explain his nature, even if he wondered what may become of them in the future and where they would end up. 

She smiled then, her dark sea eyes alight in his direction. She reminded him of the the seaside during a morning rain, when the ocean was its deepest blue and the skies were pale grey with cloud, just barely streaks of pale gold rays peaking out as the sun struggled to push it's way through. 

When then she speaks once more, telling him she wanted him to be her consort this season. Fiery gaze widened, his shock was obvious - he couldnt control it. Last season he had fallen short of being chosen by any siren. Did she choose him only because he was the only male familiar with their culture in these lands? Because he would be accustom to his lack of involvement and decisions in the pups lives? 

I would be honored, siren. He gulps. His uncertainty and concern obvious in his expression. Would it be obvious he was new to this, too? But... His forelegs shift over one another. What if there is sons? If she killed them.... no, she couldn't, could she? Would she?

kalika, while taken aback by aiolos's blunt admission, did find herself in agreeance. there were some traditions upheld by the nereides that not even she, a siren by birth could defend. of course, she still participated as was the expectation. 

a small smile teased at the corners of kalika's mouth, but never quite came to fruition. rather, it fell, transforming into a frown as aiolos continued to speak. well, the siren huffed, i pray that there are no sons. perhaps the sea will pity me. 

she did not wait for a response. rather, she stood and made way for the border, hoping to have a moment of solitude.

It was just so... so sudden. Aiolos, mouth opening as though to speak, was left overwise speechless. He lifted his hanging jaw which snapped shut his mouth and he nodded to the woman as she lifted herself up from her placement then and left him there.

He laid, nearly dumbfounded, as he watched her form fade with each passing steps.  Olo had agreed to breed with this woman come spring, by her will and his will to fulfill his duty to the siren women. But, it was only their first meeting and hell, he didnt even know her name.  Aiolos breathed deep, uncertain of what he had gotten himself into. 

Lifting, he too made way - back to his den. He needed to sleep on this.