Redsand Canyon Heartbeat

The sound of her own heartbeat was almost deafening. She hated it.

She wandered the canyon in search of something to take her mind off the horrid sound, the way it pumped and soundly kept her awake for the night. She wanted nothing more but sleep right now, but the veteran was too occupied with the sound of her own heart. Pump, pump, pump. The more she heard it the faster it went. She growled out loud and began running in the sand. No other goal but to find water for her to drink. She needed it to slow down her now racing heartbeat. The sound irritated her ears, and she pinned her ears back toward her skull.

When she finally found water, she collapsed at the edge of it. She panted and gasped not realizing how fast and hard she had run already in deep sand. She panted and her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest any minute now, like it would pop out of place and stop beating.

”STOP!” She growled again and kept panting before crawling toward the water and drinking. She couldn’t lift herself from the waters, so her chest and forelegs became wet and drenched in water. She was shaking. Not sure why, she began dragging herself into the water to cool off. When she came back to the surface and crawled onto land again, she stayed on her side. The panting had subsided, everything seemed to go back to normal. For now.

The Grandmaster had been meaning to talk to War. So, upon seeing the russet female, Nyra followed behind and stopped a small distance from the soldier as she shouted. 

"War. I've been meaning to speak with you." She announced herself calmly, looking upon her fellow Warmaiden with respect and some form of adoration.
It was a conversation long coming. Promotional.

When Nyra spoke to her she was snapped out of her own mindset. The heartbeat forgotten, the present suddenly before her. She rose to her feet and let the water drip off her, she thought it rude to shake her fur next to Nyra and get her wet, so she simply let it drip. She looked at Nyra with the same admiration she always had for this woman. The one and only who seemed to grasp the way her mind worked at times, the only one who never made her feel out of place with the way she was thinking.

War wasn’t sure how long Nyra had been watching, but she was aware her behavior had been out of place, yet Nyra made no mention of it, and for that War was grateful. She needed no reprimand for knowing that her outbursts were out of place. She very well knew that her outbursts were the beginning. She had seen in it soldiers before who had fought in too many battles, killed too many or watched the killing. While some thrived in it War was okay with killing. Not thriving, but okay. But seeing her friends die around her? Never okay.

”Yes, Nyra?” War stood silently, awaiting whatever Nyra wanted from her. She had no idea what was coming as well as no reason to think it bad. She had done nothing wrong and trusted Nyra.

War seemed somewhat caught off guard. Though, Nyra wasn't entirely sure. The red woman seemed in check with her emotions constantly, so the guess was only that. 

"Since your meeting Xicor, it became more clear that this has been needed, so, as of this very moment, you are promoted from Specialist to Executioner. Congratulations." Nyra smiled with pride in War, keeping things short and sweet. There was no need to dance around the bush with it. 
Especially not when Kynareth disappeared and seemingly left Nyra the sole authority pillar of the pack.

"Since your meeting Xicor, it became more clear that this has been needed, so, as of this very moment, you are promoted from Specialist to Executioner. Congratulations."

Her ears flicked slightly. Not much but a little, enough to be seen. She had a ton of questions at this point, a lot of thoughts going through her mind at an alarming speed. ”Thank you.” She knew that she had to say that but she wasn’t sure what it all meant. War was born ready for anything thrown at her, her racing thoughts put off, to the side and away. Tucked deep within she let it all slide. Nyra had given her responsibility and she had to live up to that.

But what did it mean? Did she have to kill on Nyra’s command? Hadn’t she always though as a specialist too? She was not to judge war, they made war because it was part of nature, not because anyone deserved it, or didn’t deserve it. War was the world, the evolution of things. Fight, die, survive. All of it was just a part of the machinery. If Nyra told War to kill someone for a wrongdoing, she would do it. She had been given that job now, and she would not fail it.

”Kynareth. Where is he?” She had not seen him in a while and she wondered where he had gone. She almost wanted to ask if he was part of this decision, but she did not doubt that Nyra was capable to make this decision on her own. War’s affection and loyalty to Nyra only grew the more time passed. Loyalty that wasn’t for sale, but she made an exception for her. She was fully aware she wasn’t alpha (not to her current knowledge), but she saw Nyra as such anyway. She had proved herself to be an alpha by heart. Someone War could follow, someone who could lead them to battle. War would die for her.

Though she had no plans of dying any time soon.

War, as usual, seemed unreadable aside from the flit of admiration(?) in her hues. 
A thanks from her, to which Nyra nodded once. 

To the question posed, the Grandmaster sighed "It appears Kynareth is gone with the wind. I haven't seen him around like he usually is. I co-led with him until this point, but with him absent, I am now the only alpha of the Saints. At least until he comes back, if he does." Her answer is truthful, full of acknowledgement of the heavy weight on her shoulders. For now, it was a weight she would carry alone.

"It appears Kynareth is gone with the wind. I haven't seen him around like he usually is. I co-led with him until this point, but with him absent, I am now the only alpha of the Saints. At least until he comes back, if he does.”

”Good.”

War never gave much consideration to her words. She had a thought and she spoke it out loud if it was within her place to do so. War had always liked Kynareth, she did not speak out of disloyalty, something that was hard to ever find an ounce of in War. However. Nyra had always appeared to have a stronger presence, a lingering of loyalty, honor of war. War didn’t know Kynareth as well as she thought she knew Nyra, but what she did know was they were both strong individuals, Nyra, however, was stronger. To War that meant she was the stronger alpha.

”Can I assist you?” She didn’t know what else to offer but her strength. War had never lead an entire pack, she had no experience with such, nor did she claim she had any wish to do so, but she liked Nyra. She wanted to help her, be of service, show her loyalty to her and her alone. Kynareth was a good man (as far as War was concerned) but disappearing without trace or reason meant he automatically had lost good points with War. Unless he had been killed somewhere. Nothing honorable in death, but he couldn’t help dying after all.

Good.
Can I assist you?

It appears Nyra had at least one wolf would follow her until the very end.
The Grandmaster hmmed in thought, considering...

"Continue to show me your strength." Nyra responded finally. The order was all she assumed War would need. Two powerhouses, females of war-blood. 

Show me you can lead beside me one day. 

War would indeed follow Nyra to the world’s end. They hadn’t known each other for long, but long enough. Nyra had seen every side there was to War, and she assumed she had seen much of Nyra too. Loyalty, power, a specific kindness that some may overlook, but it was there regardless. A kindness to her packmates, a kindness to her own. The ones that mattered.

"Continue to show me your strength."

She needed no more. War nodded and the water from her pelt kept on dripping like a ticking clock, War had never felt love before, love of any kind really. It was beyond her reach to feel it at this point, she had seen and done too much to ever feel capable of love, the executioner killed without question with no regard to life. One who did so could not love, could not be worthy of love. However, should War ever feel love it would be for Nyra.

”Always.” It was a promise.