Bearclaw Valley child of sun, child of moon

(Forwarded a week or so from current time)

The trek across the meadow had been slow, post-heat exhaustion turned her long limbs to rock. Every time she stepped it was as if she were pulling her paws out of deep, wet mud. By the time she had reached the entrance to Bearclaw Valley Auriel was just about ready to collapse into a heap of golden-and-black fur. 

Yet she knew before she could rest her skinny head, she must announce her arrival to the skies...and to the pack of tooth and claw that lay ahead. Lifting her golden skull she gave a low, mournful sound that echoed and bounced off of the valley walls. "If they don't hear that they are no better than babes." The she-wolf of sun grumbled, shaking the dust from her short fur as she settled down. The wait may be long, but wait she shall. Ursus was her last chance, only death awaited her elsewhere. 

lure him.
the words of aventus had echoed in his mind for some time; recent events had bittered the bearking. in him beat the ache to rip and to claw, to be wild once more. ursus was silent. the bears were silent. he agonized that he had not done enough to savour the past year.
a dirge, rising in a bold arc over the valley.
the coywolf's nape prickled with the remembered anger and humiliation that the conversation had evoked.
putting to use his more subtle step, merrick wended his way toward the caller, out of sight and near-silent. he did not reveal himself once he had arrived, surveying the brilliant gold coloration of her coat and its too-striking features.
merrick shifted to a patch of thorns. 
"who calls for the bears?" he sang back, voice thundering with the same energies the stranger had given.

(Done from my phone so excuse any errors)

The she-wolf of sun could not rest her eyes, not for the mere moments it took for the shadow to arrive. He was completely silent, no tell to say the coywolf had come to her. 

The man spoke, but there was no reply from her as she shamelessly looked him over. This one was dangerous, riddled in tales of battle. The loss of an eye struck out to Auriel the most, the gaping hole of where the other orb should have been. 

Auriel's small frame shifted to her feet, stepping delicately away from him. Everything about the half-breed sent delicious shivers down her spine. Fearsome as a wolf should be. "Auriel." she answered, voice low in her throat. As handsome as he was she wouldn't let her guard down. "I have come to find warrior's, your appearance does not disappoint." 

no worries! sorry for the wait! <3

could she see him? merrick left off his parade and approached her directly. she was not large but not without her dangers. the coywolf had come to expect it upon all sides. "for what reason do you seek warriors?" 
his appearance did not disappoint. "this is ursus. bear fighters."
teeth glinted. they were as small in number as they had ever been, and yet the thrumming core of violence had not abated.
merrick watched auriel.

(No worries!)

The shade approached her with direct intent, and so she moved to have him at her front. There was no way in hell she would let him behind her. 

Auriel was a smart girl, if not a little too bold. "I am tired of traveling alone, of seeing weak wolves grovel at the feet of those that are stronger." Her sultry voice was tinted with a heavy accent, one from far, far away from the Teekon. "I want to serve something greater, to be stronger." To create an empire with my flesh and blood. 

Bear fighters. The way he spoke sent her heart speeding in her pale chest, this right here was a true fighter, someone to be obeyed without hesitation. 

she wanted to serve. and she wished to shed blood. with the mention of the saints' leader still burning in his mind, merrick approached her delicately. 
his gaze seared toward her own. there was potential for more to be done and yet —
"do you know who i am?"
their name was still known, he expected, but she had not said it. more to be said, but for now merrick only invited her to speak in silence.

The minute he steps closer every hair on her body rises in rebuke, lips twitching as she struggled not to bare her teeth. Show no fear, and he shall not conquer you. She burned those words into the back of her mind, ears laid flat against her head. 

Ocean blue eyes stared into fiery golden, unwavering. "No." She admitted head cocked slightly in curiosity. "Should I?" There was a pause between her words, deliberate. She did not wish to offend the coywolf. 

the bearking stared at the fightwoman for a long moment, ceding at last to their need for bodies. and yet behind his grin, behind his voice as he said, "you should know the name of merrick, for i am your new leader,"
there was something bleak and riotous and untrusting behind his grin,
but merrick covered it with a tilt of his head. "give me your name." her home was assured now, so long as she kept his laws, and now that this moment had passed, he sought her title amusedly.

For a long, agonizing moment she feared the coywolf would simply attack her, instead, he grinned and spoke those words she desperately wanted to hear. Thank you. She would not say it aloud, her mother taught her it was a weakness to show gratitude. "My name is Auriel, she-wolf of the sands." A title fit for one of her colors.

And so it was, seemingly completed. She was an Ursus wolf now, how thrilling to be among the ranks of such wolves. "Merrick." She mused, dipping her head in respect. "A fine name." For a fine wolf. 

fade here? im gonna start a new one :D

"flattery will carry you far," merrick laughed softly, though this faded the moment that his face was turned from her. with a smart flick of his tail, he meant to escort auriel into the ancient forest, naming the members of the pack whose paths they crossed.
auriel.
merrick reached deep within himself for guidance upon that name.