Gyrfalcon's Keep in the forests of the night

Sugar and @Opalia moved hastily north, crossing field and pasture, exchanging a few words here and there but mostly saving their breath to sustain a quick pace. They didn't slow down or stop even once until they reached the base of the keep just before daybreak. She hated to rouse @Stryx and @Praimfaya so early, so she motioned for her companion to slow and keep quiet as they approached.

When they reached the makeshift rendezvous point, the first fingers of morning sunlight draped warm on their backs. The keep's namesake birds circled overhead, fresh from their roost and hunting for breakfast. Sugar ignored their distant cries as she moved forward to check on the patient, before stepping aside to let Opalia have a look at her long lost friend.

Title from "The Tyger" by William Blake.

I'm gonna have to personally curate Stryx's timeline at this rate lmfao.

Sugar had gone off to find someone named Opal - or something - and so Stryx stuck with the patient. She heard the calls in the air fling back and forth from the mountain and all of it made her brow furrow; for all the help this Moonspear could have provided they did not seem eager to do so. Stryx began to formulate a backup plan just in case things fell through, and thankfully she would not have to act upon it.

Stryx had been caring for Praimfaya during small windows of focus. Otherwise she was in a half-sleep. Not allowing herself to fully relax, and checking on the wounded warrior every couple of hours. When Sugar arrived it was just shy of dawn and the soft sounds of a careful approach caught in her ears, made her bristle. She turned to glare at the approaching figures looking dishevelled, dark circles more prominent around her eyes.

When she recognized Sugar she relaxed a little bit - and then the girl stepped aside, and this newcomer, who she presumed was the wolf the other medic had gone to find, emerged from beside her. Stryx was silent; she did not want to disturb the moment nor wake the wounded.

The level of complication suddenly added to her departure from the Spear's slopes left her tense.. but given the cause that brought her out here at all, she was quick to choke it back, and look ahead. Sugar guided their route, and Opalia gladly lent herself to a hot pace, through fields beyond on towards another peak until daybreak came creeping. They were near, and anticipation built.. but Osiris' edict on her leave had left a reminding mark too, not that what she knew from Hydra from before helped.

Tension had gladly shaped into something else, even as her mind whirred through the possibilities--from before, and after. Medics had Praimfaya, and that alone was troubling enough without knowing what had happened. She did not want to imagine what may have come for the wanheda to land her in this state, yet neither did she understand the months since her brother had left them both behind. There was no telling for her if this was a new development, or something longer term.. or whatever else the wilds may have offered her in the time since Dacio had gone.

On cue, and still taking her hints from Sugar, she made for a subdued approach.. soft and respectful, as she was out of her element here, nervous, and on a fine line of was she happy? Sad? Worried? Relieved? Yes, but.. there still was an ember of abandonment beneath everything else that she tried to keep away from. Hei, she greeted quietly to the grayscale stranger with a deep nod, keeping a respectable mien about herself. She was not here to overstep where the medics had their keep, or get in their way, so she hung back a few lengths, staying slow. She waited patiently, eyes keen with a wiggling nose after familiar and unfamiliar scents alike. Wanheda..? she asked, softly into the scene--or did she even want to hear that title nowadays? Was she even awake, or taking any visitors--herself included..? Or was her presence even welcome, all things considered? So many questions, and it was difficult not to hold her breath, waiting.

for the most part, praimfaya slumbers. on and off; fits of light and deep sleep depending on the pain levels of the wounds along her throat, shoulder, muzzle and eye. somedays were tolerable and during others they throbbed and smarted with a mighty vengeance. when she is awake she eats whatever her medics bring to her: be it meat or medicines. she drinks and then she rests more in the hopes that she will recover quicker.

she stirs awake at the sound of approach; breaching the surface of her nonsensical tendrils of dreams. she blinks, bleary eyed at the form of sugar glider and then at the form of opalia as her once subordinate trails behind the striped girl. at first, praimfaya considers that she is an illusion — a side effect of some poppy ...but the utterance of wanheda, the myriad of scents: familiar as they were, tell praimfaya that opalia was not a vision.

opalia, her voice is rough, grates with a rasp that has never been present before. it is the first time in a few days that she's heard it fully lucid and it sounds almost like it must belong to a stranger; it doesn't. ai moba... she swallows hard and winces. ai nou beda lesad oyu. as with all mistakes they are only mistakes when the turning point of the error is teeth at one's throat. as with most mistakes, praimfaya wonders if she's learned this one too late and hopes, at the very least, that opalia can forgive her though she knows she does not necessarily deserve it.

She felt a measure of relief when Opalia finally laid eyes on her friend and recognized her. What were the odds of two she-wolves named Praimfaya roaming the wilds though? Sugar hadn't realized she'd worried about it until just then. Her lips pulled into a bemused smile and she exchanged a look with Stryx, who was also standing aside to let the pair of women reunite.

Her little head cocked to the side when they spoke to one another in a foreign tongue. Although she aspired to be worldly and loved helping folks of all kinds, she felt a strange twinge at the exchange. It took her a moment to identify it: frustration. What were they saying? She didn't fear they were speaking ill of her, yet just the fact that she couldn't possibly follow along made her feel peculiar.

Giving no indication of this, Sugar licked her lips and padded to sit next to Stryx, glad to give her weary feet a break. "Good morning," she said, black eyes lifting up to watch the falcons circle a moment before dropping her gaze back toward Opalia and Praimfaya for just a moment. She then focused on her own companion's face. She kind of wanted to tell her about the unexpected drama at Moonspear but held her tongue for now.

Sorry for holding this up! Feel free to skip me.

While the newcomer went to visit with the patient, Stryx looked them over. She took notice of her good health, the scents that flowed around her and from her, as well as the flicker of concern upon Sugar's face when they began to speak. It felt wrong to be present during this moment as it felt private, so Stryx removed herself from alongside Praimfaya to let them have their space; not long after that, Sugar planted next to her.

Good morning, she murmured, and with a glance Stryx noticed how her attention was upon the sky rather than the conversation happening earthside.

Stryx shoulder-bumped the younger wolf in a friendly manner, sort of her equivalent of a fist-bump, and commented to her in a low voice so as not to disturb the other conversation going on, You did good. What was all the hollerin' about, though? Yeah, she'd heard those howls. Made her wonder if they were in trouble for helping Praimfaya for some reason - and maybe they'd be safer to disperse after the patient recovered a bit more.

For the first moment, she still felt misplaced despite all the relief stirred together with concern. It came as a myriad of feelings, as she found things often are in these days, but hearing her name brought a slow exhale. Good, and she took a small step closer afterward. The medics slowly become a secondary thought and she sensed the space they lend her. Thank you, came swiftly to mind. Thank you.. to Sugar, and her companion but she would handle that gratitude later on.. not that she knew how to repay them. Even if the reunion may not be every circumstance she wanted to see with her brother's charge wounded, and Osiris' questions kept her keenly aware of the bridges burned, it was still something she had not been able to find on her own. For them, she was impossibly grateful.

Hearing the apology tipped down her nose, and left her thinking for a heavy moment. A slow, steadying breath, then she nodded. A trace of acceptance, though she was coming to grips with it as well. Frustration kept her barbed, but sorrow weighed her down. Times had changed, and her with it somehow--though the warrior did not know if it was for the better yet. I wish you had told me.. she murmured in their tongue. I needed you then was the whole truth she wanted to say. I searched.. but could never catch up. Grief had knocked her down, and with loss pairing over it, she had certainly not been at her best. Was it for his revenge? And.. what happened now, all this? she asked, less somber then as she gestured for wanheda's wounds, and a searing flash of worry in her mismatched eyes went there with it.

Were these the same teeth that had done Dacio in? She hoped not, but if it was, it only expedited her cause.

praimfaya is silent as opalia shares that she wishes she would've told her. her mouth is full of words, throat constricting ...in stinging pain of her wounds, in grief. she had never meant to hurt opalia, but despite her intentions it was very clear that she had. it was revenge ...and it was because i'd told hydra prior to dacio's death — those words hurt the most to say. praimfaya swallows hard and winces. that i didn't plan to stay in moonspear. his death accelerated my initial decision. i thought by leaving without word it was safer. for you. for moonspear. no accountability for you or them if i found them.

i searched for a bit after i left moonspear and i went to crogeda to tell them. aunt thyri couldn't offer support, not with so many cubs. so i came back very recently.

i know it doesn't make it right but if i die opalia, my spirit will live on in the next commander, though praimfaya doesn't want to die, she cannot say she is afraid of it, either. she is a warrior and it's always a possibility. but if you die...i will lose everyone and everything i've ever loved. blodreina. ingram. dacio. the bodies were stacking up and jus drein, jus daun remained always out of her grasp.

it wasn't them...i don't think. a woman in the bleeding forest, praimfaya gestures weakly in the direction of ravensblood. thinks she and her partner own the place and attacked me when i tried to pass thru. praimfaya draws in a pained breath. blood must have blood. if i see that bitch again i will kill her. a promise.

You two can skip me as well, since Sugar's zzz. :)

Stryx seemed curious about the "hollering," as she called it. Sugar blinked, a little surprised she'd overheard from this distance. Before answering, she glanced at the other pair of she-wolves, distracted by the flurry of foreign words flowing between them. Although they weren't being loud, Sugar motioned at Stryx and then moved further away, until Opalia's and Praimfaya's voices faded into the distance.

"I don't know," she admitted, coming to a stop once they were out of earshot, "I didn't get a chance to ask. We ran all the way here. But there's definitely some drama there." Her black eyes cut sideways for another gander at the pale figures, then back to Stryx as she dropped to her haunches and admitted. "And I'm dead tired. As much as I want to know what's going on here, I think I need a nap first."

She slowly slid onto her belly in the grass, sighing as the weight came off her aching feet. She stretched and flopped onto her side, feeling safe with Stryx and the others nearby. Sugar meant to say something else to her immediate companion but her eyes rolled skyward, catching one last glimpse of the gyrfalcons before she promptly fell asleep.

With a little prompting Stryx got to her paws and followed after Sugar, casting the pair of strangers a small glance; she wasn't sure if it was safe to go too far from them, feeling dubious of every wolf she encounters as a default, but their voices dwindle soon enough and Sugar begins to elucidate. She doesn't say much either, and Stryx can't really blame her. She looked as if she'd been running all night. A good rest was what the girl needed, and some food, so when Sugar tucked in for some sleep Stryx nodded and left her to her slumber.

She prowled back to where Praimfaya was talking with Opalia a few minutes later. While she was a bit curious to know what was going on, it wasn't really her business and Stryx wasn't known for gossip nor getting deeply involved in the affairs of pack wolves. She busied herself with arranging a few bits of greenery around where she'd been guarding the fallen warrior, assembling piles of herbs from what remained of the previous night's dalliances, taking stock - and trying not to eavesdrop too much.

Her head felt like spinning, all churning with too many things at once, smearing over the fatigue of the present that she had overlooked on the way here.. but ringing from one thought to the next, she did listen carefully. It was revenge, and she knew Praimfaya's place with Moonspear would have never been entirely permanent.. but to find it ending then, suddenly, without a mention, she couldn't lie and say it had not stung--just salt in the wound Dacio's loss had torn into her. Safer, maybe if one squinted, but still. 

Then, to newly find out how prickled the mountain wolves were over the situation didn't help, furthering her position as.. feeling strange, and something to navigate carefully. She had their security, and Hydra was potentially her closest lead to vengeance they craved, but attachments longer lasting than anything there were difficult to ignore, always.

About Crogeda, her expression was stoic and an implication of Praimfaya's spirit living on beyond her rankled her deep down, ears pinning back then. Face warm, but frustrated on just how to say--Still.. I do understand, but safer or not, I felt.. very left behind to worry that you did not want me to find you, for whatever reason. I do not plan to die for this, but I do not think Dacio did himself.. at first, she spoke quietly, though his acceptance in the end had unnerved her, and it still did to this day. Death could come from nowhere, prepared to greet it or not. But there is nothing else that I have, either. I have no idea if my family in Trigeda still lives--my father, Blixen, let alone precisely how to find them. This is.. this is it, she gestured vaguely with her muzzle with a tired sigh, meaning the Teekons at large and wherever within she made a niche for herself, unless she set off elsewhere--which she did not plan to do, not alone.

I do not think Moonspear was that happy with the nature of your sudden end with them, as well. The boy Dacio saved, he did not want me to come meet you at first, he had his questions.. she added on, unsure if any news of those howls had trickled this far into the wilds, though doubting it. She let that much hang, letting Praimfaya take it for what it was worth while Opalia still did not know quite what to make of that much. Plus, she did feel lowly for pouring so much on the injured wanheda out of nowhere like this.

As for the wolves in the bleeding forest, her face was stern and took it with a slow nod. Then that was another on her hit-list, then, though perhaps one of a different nature. Good, she deserves nothing less, the golden Drakru grated, irritated to find more foes out in the wilds--not that she frequented the bleeding forest much in these days. What did she look like? Hope you left her a reminder, she tried for a small smirk then, for surely, the commander of death would not come out looking like this and leave the other party unscathed.

i was selfish to leave you behind. i was wrong. praimfaya does not deny it. i hope one day you can forgive me. she, like the long line of commanders before her and no doubt the ones that would one day follow her, was imperfect. it rankles her slightly, that osiris would command opalia not to come to her, that he expects answers from her. she is the commander ...and though recognized by none except for maybe still opalia she cannot help how it makes her feel. i don't want you to answer for me. and yet, she doesn't feel like facing their judgement either. at least, not right now. you shouldn't have to. one day, i will go to them ...but if they see it as a betrayal then i doubt i can change that opinion.

they forget that they weren't always forward with me. she speaks of the whole dragomir and isi hunt.

allowing for the change of topic to the most present and probably pressing matter, praimfaya lets out a laugh — chokes on the air as the action moves the muscles beneath split, and tended to flesh; which makes its final transition into a small noise of pain that she tries hard to stifle through gritted teeth. dull brown coat. green eyes. not very pretty. praimfaya sniffs. has a nasty wound on her neck and maybe on her chest. though after being interrupted praimfaya hadn't paused to get a good look. couldn't, really, with one eye stinging from blood dripping into it and the other wildly trying to track the movements of the two forest wolves whilst planning her escape.

lucky for her, her partner interrupted.

She was quiet, then, for a contemplative moment where her ears splayed backwards. Forgiveness was a foreign concept for a life modeled after the pursuit of revenge, but.. these circumstances were worldly different. Her brother's words, don't lose each other, had come to her time and time again since, held terribly close to her heart and enough to send her across the valleys and mountains in search. There would be no arguing that fact from her, and perhaps, the wounds would heal enough to become forgiveness in full now that some doubt could be set aside. They both lived, after all, and that was more valuable to her than she could even say.

For the Moonspear wolves, she had tried to see both sides of this and still intended to toe that line, for plenty of purposes for now. I do not know what all they expect, besides some explanation. Betrayal in full may be heavy for it, given everything, but there is something there, no doubt.. Still, they may appreciate hearing it from you, for whatever it is worth, she sighed, but was soothed to know Praimfaya may make her case to them and hopefully before then, she herself could help soften the blow of it. It was mostly Hydra she had an interest in. The son had placed himself into the situation freshly too, giving her more to navigate. I will owe some explanation when I get back, but I do not think it will be anything they do not already know, she added, considering what the dark alphess had found out while Opalia had searched. Hydra may very well be the best lead I have on the wolf who did that to Dacio.. she spoke lowly, feeling it worth a mention to the wanheda--like an explanation that she owed to her, too.

Towards the description of the newest problem, she dipped a nod and matched it with a deepening frown. Of course some ugly cur was responsible. As for the partner, she simply kept that note stored away. There may be more details to unearth there. Still, she was happy to hear of a returned wound that did not sound kind; Praimfaya's looked troubling enough, but with the attendance of the two medics, Opalia did not fret on it extensively. Good. Not that there are a pair of them, but.. good she should not forget you soon, she added, feeling a touch suspicious that there might be more to find out regarding the wolves haunting that forest. Have you been traveling all this while? I met Sugar Glider on the coast, when I was searching a few weeks back.. and in exchange for me keeping a lookout for her misplaced comrades, she told me she would watch for you, too. I did not think you would need to meet her like this, though I am glad you did, she said, but was immensely thankful for the medic's apparent right time and place. She could only make her assumptions about the other, silvery stranger despite simply lumping her in alongside Sugar, for lack of anything better yet.

i understand, praimfaya assures opalia. i haven't heard of wolves causing trouble in my travels but hopefully they still remain. else 'blood must have blood' would be denied and dacio deserves to be avenged. praimfaya feels this strongly, perhaps because there'd been no one to go after for blodreina's death and no leads on whom — or what — had killed ingram. though with her parents she had closure she lacked the satisfaction of paying blood for blood. i will ask around when i'm better. she promises and wonders if they should pick a neutral territory to meet up and share information, or opalia could always go to the sawtooth. she would not be met with any hostility at the borders, of this praimfaya could ensure. would use her place at the top of the non-leader hierarchy to her advantage.

for the most part, praimfaya answers. i found diaspora ...or what's left of them. they were the pack that took in my mother when she was heavily pregnant with me. they merged with another pack and call themselves 'sagtannet' now. i normally reside on the sawtooth spire. mahler's acceptance of her was a kindness that the wanheda feels that she likely does not deserve ...but has spent much time trying to earn all the same.

i like sugar glider, and stryx, praimfaya muses with a soft smile and then a blanch of pain that she tries quickly to hide. i owe them my life. and the debt of the commander's life was a heavy one.

Hopefully they still remained, indeed. Opalia knew it was not the most favorable notion to hold on to, but she did not want to see this one fade away into a lost opportunity for Dacio's sake--not like the wolves of the coast that had chipped away at Drageda until they splintered entirely. She still held onto that blame deep in her heart, even if, again, it was not the kindest of services she did to herself; she didn't want to know they got away with all the hurt they had caused her. I will be looking, too. Perhaps helping Hydra's mountaineers train, as well.. unless she needs otherwise, she said, quietly, for she was still contemplating what it would be that she busied herself with after this. For so long, the axis on which she spun had been finding Praimfaya.

I see, she breathed, keeping the names of the places close, some more familiar than others. Perhaps she had passed by there in her travels; she had gone over the mountains, but never come across anyone hailing from such a place. I don't know the other mountain range the best, maybe I went by there without knowing. I crossed the range, but still found nothing.. and have no idea where else to hunt for Dacio's revenge, she added, but changed the subject soon enough with ease. Sugar is a good wolf, I was lucky to find her, she chuffed softly, a tired squeeze of her eyes then too, and matched the other name to the sterling stranger. Stryx. Do you think they would be against me staying around for the rest of the day.. if that was fine by you too? I already feel bad for encroaching on them, and your healing here with so much to be said, but.. cannot say I am in the biggest hurry ever to get back, though it won't be too long.. so they don't think I've turn-tailed or anything, the pale gona said, wanting to run the idea by wanheda first before bringing the idea up to the medics but there was surely more to catch up on. At least she could hunt for them, or help with whatever they needed for the short while she wanted to stay.

First though, she felt the mighty need for a bit of a rest, and couldn't quite bring herself to just up and leave the scene, yet.

They spoke in a manner that Stryx was unfamiliar with, and it intrigued her immensely. It sounded almost like the common-tongue but also very different, with various words and groupings she could not even try to translate. Stryx knew it was not appropriate to listen, it was not her business and they were not her people. When Priamfaya mentioned her name — as well as the now sleeping girl, Sugar — her ears twitched and she looked over at the two of them; she remained silent, attentive, but then returned her chin to her paws as she lay in the green without interruption.

admitting that she doesn't truly know where to search for dacio's killers — despite that he'd died of his wounds and not necessarily at the jaws of another directly — any more than she had when she'd first left moonspear was a lot like admitting defeat. so she doesn't. she acknowledges opalia's words with a soft noise that reverberates in her injured throat and is near enough to draw a small gasp of pain from wanheda. she swallows it back, refusing to let it flutter free.

i'd like for you to stay, praimfaya tells opalia and then adds, for as long as you can. as far as stryx and sugar glider ...praimfaya cannot answer for her healers. she thinks that opalia is here at all means they don't mind her presence but — she could be wrong. for a moment she worries about trouble opalia might find herself in upon her return especially if they were against her visitation, and though the thought concerns praimfaya, she tucks it aside. her recouped strength is beginning to wane and soon the pain of her wounds as she moves and speaks — despite her best efforts to be mindful — would not be enough to keep her awake.

That, she takes with a grateful nod. A start, though she hesitates over the glance towards the healers who have been quiet. Then, a sigh back to wanheda, who she hoped could rest up and mend in full with great haste. Even if their homes may be made on separate mountain ranges for now, she had a growing sense that she would not let that distance deter her. Afraid it will never be long enough, but.. she squeezed shut her eyes with her murmur, then after a lingering moment of quiet, she finally rose to turn--with a strange new sensation in her chest, relief, anticipation, new worry, exhaustion, and all else all at once, together, and wickedly intense in a body that had grown numb from grief for many moons.

Stryx, yes? she stood respectably, and focused on her first, as Sugar looked out for the count. It reminded her to speak quietly as the gona minded her manners--something she felt she was doing a lot of lately, though it was for good reason. I want to thank you, first of all. I would also like to stay and rest too.. a little while longer, if I will not be in your way, she gestured to Sugar as well, who wouldn't hear this now but.. in time, Opalia trusted that her sentiment may be shared. Though she did not intend to stay long, considering the looming mountain to the south. Any length of time, however.. she knew to cherish it, for what if it was the last..?

It had been a long couple of days. Sugar had the right idea and was out like a light, and the longer Stryx listened to the pair converse in a language she could not follow, she could not help but drowse.

When something shifted nearby to her, she lifted her head with a start and blearily blinked at the pretty fair-colored face, her ears twitching when the stranger spoke her name in hushed tones. Mmn?

The thanks was not necessary; as for sticking around for a bit, Stryx gave a sleepy nod. Stay if you wish. She needs round-the-clock observation and I don't know how long I can stay awake at this point. If you take next shift, alert one of us if things turn dire?

That would give Stryx a chance to recouperate, at least.

despite praimfaya's best attempts to stay awake she hears opalia's last words to her murmured in their native tongue, the admission that it wouldn't be long enough; her eyelids are heavy. her energy sapped from her, lulled to a sense of security in the care of the nomedics and in the presence of a wolf she holds as a beloved. wake me before you leave. it is a weak, tired slurred command of the commander but it appeases her enough to allow her to fall into slumber, head lolling before gently lowering to her front paws, the words shared between stryx and opalia lost to her.

Not knowing what the expect from the steely healer kept her quietly wondering, but given a task to uphold suited her remarkably well. Opalia was just grateful for a chance to rest her body, even if she knew there would be hush to her mind's constant churning. Now, given new details to work through especially while she determined what to do with them from here. But first things first. Of course, she nodded deeply, grateful. Rest well, she offered softly before she turned purposefully back to her wounded wanheda.

The pale gona would do as asked, on all accounts. She would not be leaving without a word. If anything seemed amiss, she would alert the medics, and kept an ear turned in Praimfaya's direction when she settled in for a watchful spot beside her. She was determined to not remind herself of watching over Dacio's pained sleeps before the end had finally turned upon him. This would not be like that at all; she would mend, and regain her strength in time.

She curled into herself, eyes wide, but the rest of her stilling slowly down to rhythmic breaths as she settled--and digested the events of the day so far.