Redsand Canyon I'm standing on your porch screamin' out

sunrise, 30 F

Kallik woke on the cold stone floor of the cave, alone like always. The loneliness sat like a stone in his gut, growing bigger and heavier every day. But he knew the feeling well; it hurt but it was familiar and most importantly, it was safe. 

He hardly noticed the cold most of the time, blessed with a thick northern coat. But in the mornings his isolation almost negated any protection he had from the icy wind, especially this high in the mountains. 

He needed to get up and moving, so he pulled himself from the ground and shook the sleep from his body. He padded out and sat on the the cliff that overlooked the brown sands of the canyon below. He had left a large lake behind him yesterday, finding a meal in a large fish he had caught. Then he had traveled as high as he could until he found somewhere to rest for the night. 

The sun illuminated the dusty valley below and started to warm some of the frigidness within him. Once he was moving again, it would be easy to get lost in the rhythm of travel and forget the things that plagued his mind. He had dreamed of her again last night. She was hanging on this very cliff, paws slipping with each second that passed, but he was frozen in place, doomed to watch her fall to her death in the sands. Jawahir he had even called out, but it was no use; he watched her small paws slip from the stone and then she was gone. 

He sighed and shook out his coat once more. He would give the mountains one thorough pass over with his gaze before starting to make his way down.

crowfeather's recovery would be long.

germanicus felt that if he did not take a new route to the canyon often, he would have worn a footpath by now.

the man slid beneath morning shadows. the mountains were empty without the young healer. crowfeather's face filled his mind.

germanicus shut his eyes. when he opened them again, a pale wolf was staring at the canyon's details.

the eagle came to a firm stance. his figure filled with commanding. "hail," he greeted in a severe tone, drawing closer. the man was above him for now. 

"this place is claimed."

The quiet of the morning was eventually disturbed. A stranger spoke to him from below, and Kallik pulled his gaze from the canyon to the formidable man. His posture radiated dominance, demanded attention. It ruffled the northern's feathers a little, but he kept that hidden behind his normal blank mask. 

After a silent pause he nodded. I'm not looking to claim anything, he reassured the man. I am only looking for someone. He hadn't made it into the canyon yet, so he had no evidence to confirm or refute the stranger's words. For now, he would assume he told the truth.

germanicus began to climb.

he would not answer until his head was level with that of the pale stranger. shale and rocks slipped into the cold beyond, and he felt the bite of gnarled grasses beneath his paw.

the boy was well-built and muscled, with green eyes that perhaps had once been warm.

"who do you seek?"

the eagle faced the stranger in the manner of a centurion standing tall, hand upon the hilt of his sword.

Kallik silently waited for the man to climb up to where he was still sitting. So far, he didn't give off any vibes that told him that he meant any harm. When the stranger finally settled beside him, Kallik turned to face him. I am looking for my cousin, Merrit, he offered without hesitation. It was a sentence he had uttered so often, he hardly had to think about the words. We were separated some time ago, around the summer, and I've been traveling in search of him since. And to keep himself from sprouting roots anywhere. He didn't actually intend to stay wherever his cousin was; he just wanted to make sure he was okay, and he wanted to know where he could visit him. He planned to be a wanderer indefinitely. 

Have you heard of him? he asked. No hope sprouted in his chest, though. It was likely the stranger's answer would be no, just like everyone before him.

germanicus shook his head. "i have not heard that name. and there is no one here with it."

"this land was once claimed by the saints of the dying light. they have since been scattered. now it belongs to another."

he felt the implication was clear. the imperator's gaze was expectant. now that the younger wolf knew the nature of where they were, he might find a different path around.

As expected, he would have to continue his search. He wondered if his cousin even still lived in these lands or if he was just searching for a ghost. If he had learned anything from his past, it was that no one ever stayed. They either died or left, and he would always be left alone. But he pushed the thoughts away; they only clouded his judgement and brought up useless emotions. Sadness would not keep him alive; he needed to be alert and ready.

The stranger told him of a pack called the Saints. Kallik had never heard of them. When the man informed him that the canyon was claimed, he nodded. Thank you for the warning, he replied flatly, glancing out over the mountains to search for an alternate route. It wasn't as if he had any real reason to go there, it had just been the next place on his way down. Who does the canyon belong to now? he asked, looking back to the stranger. He was always curious; questions helped him learn the lands, and that information was valuable to a lone wanderer.

the stranger's politeness assuaged germanicus of his intentions. the eagle would not so readily lower his guard, however. "it is under the control of akashingo now. but i intend to be its leader."

he followed the other's stare down over the canyon.

"you might cease your wandering here." germanicus did not seek to recruit. 

and yet he knew his ideas might provide a structure for such wanderlusters as this one.

The mention of Akashingo temporarily broke the ice shield around his heart as it thumped an irregular beat in his chest. But keeping his emotions held tightly within him was second nature by now. The ice of his features and posture still remained intact. I know Akashingo, he said. I was there recently to see if they knew of my cousin. 

Another offer to end his seemingly infinite search. I don't lay roots or bond with others. That was his general rule despite his recent straying from it. It's easier that way. If he stayed and learned to count on anyone else, it would just end the same way it always did.

akashingo had a name for itself. 

the eagle wondered momentarily if the man had dawdled with one of the fellahin.

his suggestion was rebuffed. germanicus did not respond to the rejection.

"mereo is not a place for the unwilling."

he was silent. the canyon still had a good deal to explore. and some part of him longed to return to it.

And again there was no trying to change his mind. But he was curious about Mereo. The stranger said it was not a place for the unwilling, but Kallik wondered: What is it a place for? If it was an extension of Akashingo, led by this man, the northern was curious what it would be like. The shadow did not seem as though he would fit in the mesa; Kallik had a hard time imagining it. But he must have some kind of rapport with the pharaoh if he would be in control of whoever resided here in the canyon.

"soldiers. discipline. there cannot be endless conflict without balance. or endless impulse without tempering."

he watched the olive hue of the other's gaze. "you know the mesa. think of this place as its opposite." a small humour hovered on his cheekbones. he waited to see if the other man would match it.

Soldiers. Discipline. The words triggered unwanted memories of his father. He was supposed to train under Siarut to become a soldier of Easthollow, but obviously those plans had gone down the drain with the fall of the pack and the death of his remaining family. 

The mesa had seemed unreal to the northern. It had been a nice vacation from his real life, but he knew he could not live there. He feared it would make him complacent and soft. Of course, he would have stayed within Jawahir's cave forever if that was possible, but it wasn't. He had to come back to the real world. But he understood what the canyon wolf was implying. 

I was supposed to be a soldier, he said. The words spilled out without his permission. He cleared his throat a little. But that was a long time ago, before my family was gone. He sighed. Now what I've learned has been through necessity for my own survival. Nothing like the honed skills I was promised as a child. He was surprisingly bitter about it, but he never stopped long enough to actually feel his emotions, and so he was just now realizing it.

the boy was meant to be a soldier. he had no family. he had grown hard. 

"it is not too late a time to learn. you are young." the eagle was not a recruiter. he did not wish wolves that wandered to follow him. unless they hung up their travelwant and devoted themselves.

"i am germanicus." he faced over the cold red sand of the canyon. "my companion heals in akashingo. this place needs wolves to hold it, whether or not i am the one to do it."

He knew there was still plenty of time to learn the skills he was promised as a child, but it would mean staying here and answering to someone other than himself. He was not so arrogant that he couldn't serve under a leader, but he did wonder what exactly it would look like. He had been a child the last time he was a part of a pack, and there was still the issue that he worried about getting too close to anyone. This place seemed like it would be more about duty than relationships, though, and the idea of being trained to his full potential was extremely tempting. 

Kallik, he finally answered. I would be willing to serve you and your cause if I could be trained as a soldier in return, he said next. Something about the idea was too appealing to pass up. It was as if the conversation had awoken some long dormant need to protect.

ref tag!

"i am able to do this for you."

kallik.

"your role here is as an auxillary. this will be how you introduce yourself to others outside mereo. you are the second now. @Glaukos is the second."

he gestured toward the canyon. "for the time being, i will split my time between here and akashingo. while i am away, you are to work with your fellow auxillia in securing mereo."

a good humour lit his eyes. "welcome, kallik."

He accepted Kallik's terms, explaining that he would stay here with another called Glaukos. He would be sure to seek out the other wolf and get to know him. Who knew how long they would be here just the two of them.

He nodded when told that he would introduce himself as an auxillary. Easy enough. 

Another nod when offered the welcome. I would like to explore, he stated. Germanicus was free to join him, but Kallik was used to solitude, and wouldn't mind exploring things on his own either. 

He would head down towards the canyon either way.

germanicus gave a nod.

he would allow kallik his solitude. 

the imperator remained upon the clifftop. he meant to patrol a circle once more. 

and mereo grew by one more that day.