Redtail Rise diminuendo

Avicus had found more wolves to follow her and they were all the same. He was shy to meet them, nervous at the size and scars that seemed to litter all of their pelts. He was a rabbit surrounded by grizzlies and, despite his optimism, he knew their eyes might not be kind.

Ashlar was still resolved, and he marked the borders when he was not seeking plants to aid them if a fight did come. Unlike in Ursus, the earthen boy had a purpose here. He had a role with a name, even, given to him by a friend who saw promise in what he could offer. That had to be more than enough.

He rubbed his shoulder on a tree, scratching an itch there, and softly began to sing.

If you travel alone, in the hot summer sun, you might wish for a drink or wind fair.
But if you travel alone, in the cold of the snow, you would wish for a warm den to share.

He smiled, liking the sound of it, but thinking maybe he could come up with a better rhyme. There? Care? Something to do with summer...

snagging this while i’m at work so sorry if it’s short ❤️

There was another man.

One he had not met and we had quick to rectify this when he finally had him in his sights. Only to be stopped when he heard the soft sound of singing. Not a sound he had expected to hear in the rise, but not unwelcome either. He was unfamiliar with the tune but…it was catchy, wasn’t it?

He approached slowly with a soft bark to announce his arrival to the other.

What is that song you sing?

His voice might have been flat but it was clear there was curiosity in his eyes.

Ashlar did not think he was being listened to, so he rocked back against the tree with surprise when one of the new warriors appeared out of, seemingly, nowhere. Where.

It's just s...something I made. He stammered. The bard liked nothing more than to share his songs with others, though, and he noted the look. His tail rose a bit hopefully, and his posture shifted a bit more towards eager. Do you like songs?

Something he made.

An artist hid among the beasts. Prophet saw the potential in this, a morale booster in the songs the male might have been able to sing. A way to lift spirits in trying times.

I do. They are important. He hummed deeply with honesty — and although he may not have smiled, there was warmth in his bloody gaze.

What do you sing about?

It had been so long since someone outside of his family had shown an appreciation for his songs that his smile unfolded like a flower in the sun. They are important. He thought so too, but he'd never expected to hear the words here. And especially not from a wolf like this.

Prophet had gained himself a devoted admirer. Anything. Everything that I can. I like t..to find music, then the words that fit. Sometimes it's better, this one isn't done. Talking about his songs came easily compared to other things, so his words came quick and enthusiastically. The song he'd been singing didn't have anything meaningful in it yet, but it could. He had another one, a better one, he was working on... but that one was for Avicus. It really only had meaning for her.

Do you sing?

The man was bright.

Alight with joy, Prophet was not so dense as to miss that. His voice a quick cadence yet laced with all the care in the world. He wondered how this man came to be here, what Avi had seen, had he been tested by the hunt leader?

I don't, no. A soft shake of his head. I don't have the...skill, I suppose.

Tone deaf, lack of rhythm.

But you, your voice will be important. Tired warriors and full hunters need something to relax to.

A soft hint that he might see use in the boy in coming times of war.

He regretted asking so enthusiastically when Prophet said he didn't have the skill, but the warrior didn't seem too put out by this lacking. Ashlar's expression still fell a bit, shifting into a more apologetic smile. The compliment that followed immediately after made him look down. He was more than thrilled, but he was not used to being that openly praised.

I think so too. I just want to do as much as I can. Ashlar began to smile more genuinely, for a moment, before deciding to ask the question he'd come upon. Prophet's easy compliments had already made him comfortable enough to do so. Have you fought in many wars before?

A part of Ashlar wanted to know what it was like, a part didn't. He remembered coming to find Avicus in the aftermath of Ursus', taking her home to heal, but he still had little concept of what it had actually been like to be present. He'd been too against it to join in. This is different. The bear king wanted to kill them all. He believed, wholeheartedly, that his friend was nothing like her father in that regard.

It was a question he imagined he would hear plenty with the position he held.

So he flexed his toes in thought. Uncertain of the best way to tell tales to the bard. Perhaps he would make musical stories out of them.

I was born into the time of one. My father fought, but it was over by the time my siblings and I would have been able to participate anyway. He did not think that it counted entirely, but the answer was still important all the same.

Little did I know my time would come so soon. My age was somewhere between my first and second winter when I witnessed war firsthand.

Young, healthy. Prophet had been expected to fight.

He remained in thoughtful silence for a moment. Wondering if the bard might ask something specific about war.

He did have experience. Ashlar had none of his own. When Ursus had attacked the Saints he had left beforehand, having not even had healing skills to offer at the time. A part of him, however small, wished he had stayed. If only to better know what might be coming now.

What's it like? That was a vague question. He thought for a moment, then immediately amended it. Is it overwhelming? Or is it slow? He had tried to imagine, but some fights were chaos and others were more like hunts, facing off and winnowing down an opponent's stamina. If he was going to sing, he'd need the proper tempo.

It is everything.

He exhaled softly, reclined onto his rear.

The moments you wished were fastest feel slowest. Then the moments where you wish you just...had a bit more time? The fastest, over in a blink of an eye.

Perhaps the bard had faced something similar. A risky hunt or dangerous task.

It is why it is important to be prepared, to have plans when you know you must go to battle, you won't always have the time to plan on the field.

we can wrap this too? I've let it stretch <3

He couldn't imagine it. It sounded hectic, and horrible, and he wondered (not for the first time) how anyone could ever want this. Someone always had to first, right? In order to defend, someone had to attack. In order to take revenge, someone had to transgress.

So you have plans. How can you plan? It didn't sound like a thing he could ever account for. If he couldn't even imagine it, how could he account for what he did not know? It was so far from his realm of expertise.... and so far from anything he'd ever experienced.

wrapping up! <3

You plan for everything before it happens, you train for everything. A knowing smile briefly pulled at his features. As if he was an aged warrior teaching a toddling soldier.

Ashlar was better than something that toddled or bumbled. He had the arts on his side.

We have time to learn and teach though, Ashlar. I look forward to this for us.

Another brief smile, this one softer and genuine.