Lone Star Mountain alone with myself

OOC: Open to anyone. <3

Malila traveled north through the Sunspire mountain range, away from Mereo. Aquene was on the mend and everyone was busy doing their own thing. As an un-married civilian and not titled as a solider, she was left in limbo. With winter still alive and well, foraging for herbs and plants was not an option. Not until spring. She felt useless.

In spite of her feelings, she had heeded her Matrona's advice. Well, partly. Discreetly, she had sized up and observed the eligible male soldiers of the pack. Learned what she could of their character from a distance, but ultimately choosing not to engage. Chiefly because what she had seen and believed, was that none would be a compatible match for her. Kallik was the most pleasant, but he was already in a relationship with Aquene. Maxim she rarely glimpsed. And Glaukos had a reputation. A...prickly temperament. She was still young. So why settle?

She wanted to be alone. Away from the confines of the rust colored soil of the canyon. The clear winter night seemed a fitting setting whilst she found herself atop a wide ledge of this barren mountain. The only sound was the clatter of hooves or clash of horns. Or the drop of stray pebbles down to the earth below. Malila wasn't hungry. She was wrapped up in her thoughts, staring wistfully into the distance.

if this isn't okay let me know!

but he followed. keenly aware of the coming and goings of those who wandered away. such was life on mereo. especially as they seemed to gather more comings as of late.

he hadn't intended to be so...stalkerish. watching her as she moved. aware it was malila. one he had yet to formally meet. but she caught his eye all the same. a beautiful peacemaker in a place so ripe with strife.

when it finally seemed she had stopped moving, he would approach and speak, finding it only right to do so.

why do you wander?

it was soft despite his accented voice and deepening tones.

As much as he wanted to immediately pledge himself to whatever Towhee’s cause was, Phox also wanted to take the time to think about what was best for Peregrine and himself. The boy was all he had left of Niamh, and he would keep him close. Still, he needed time to think, so Phox pleaded the boy to stay with Towhee for the day. He wasn’t so much of a boy anymore, but it was hard to shake the feeling that he was anything else. Time seemed to stand still for the past year or so, but Phox thought things were looking up. He was reunited with Towhee, and things were always better with her around.

He hadn’t intended to run into anyone out here, and yet when he heard a voice, Phox couldn’t help but be drawn toward it. By the smell of them, they were both of the same Mereo as Towhee. Perhaps they could give him some insight into what life was like there without the bias that Towhee would possess. Of course she would want him to stay.

He approached in his usual, casual manner, respectful but not submissive or shying away from them. Oh, um, hey. Can I ask you two about your pack? My sister Towhee lives in Mereo, and I want to know if it would be a good fit for my son and me.

OOC: Not at all! Thanks for joining! :3

'Lo and behold, one of the very wolves that she had been curious about, but unable to find due to a mismatch in timing, tracked her down. Funny, how it was now, when she was away from Mereo and didn't feel like being reminded of it, that in a sense, it followed her nonetheless.

The meager light cast down from the stars and moon above made her butter blonde coat appear almost white, while she lounged on her stomach on the cold stone ledge. Staring out with blue and yellow eyes, to what lay beyond. Her ears shifted back to receive the thickly accented, soft voice. Malila only turned her head partially, to glimpse him out of the corner of her left eye. Her naturally soft expression had a more unhappy edge to it.

She parted her lips to answer. Then another man, older than the first, smelling faintly of Mereo and Towhee, approached. She shrugged her slim shoulders, not minding the question. "That depends on what kind of person you are. Your goals. What you want out of life." She breathed a silent sigh. "It is not for everyone."

ah, he did not...enjoy a sudden visitor. it put him on edge regardless of his words of familiarity or any scent he may have carried — and it likely showed in the softly defensive posture he drifted into.

but thankfully the pale healer's apprentice seemed prepared to answer the older man. so maxim would let her handle the advertising of mereo, content to listen for now.

Instead of immediately talking up all of Mereo’s best qualities, the man remained silent and the woman gave a rather vague answer. It wasn’t exactly what he had hoped for, so Phox wondered if he might needle them further.

Well, I want a place to raise my boy. And somewhere that he’ll be able to find himself. Phox realized he didn’t really know what he, himself, wanted. Wasn’t that always the way with him, though? I guess I’m a rather simple fella. A family man, if you will. He glanced at the other male, but he couldn’t seem to get a good read on him. Maybe there was nothing to read.

She turned on her side, to face the older man. "Did Towhee tell you what kind of pack Mereo is?" She searched his eyes. "It is a military outpost." A fact she had mistakenly overlooked when she was a frail thing on her own. Malila bit back the sour taste in her throat. Forced her face to remain neutral.

"There, we have a choice but of two paths to pursue. Solider or civilian. Civilians who are not pursuing a specific are encouraged to marry a soldier." God, she hated saying that. It reminded her so much of her talks with Ruenna and how different their views were. "I have not yet chosen which role is best for me. But if either option appeals to you more than the other, or if you think would be right for your son, then I would talk to him. See what he thinks."

malila, he quickly found, was far better with words than him. she was clear to instruct this man that mereo was a place of order. two paths. civilians and soldiers. he could look at mereo as family (a brotherhood of soldiers and the helpful civilians) but it was not exactly...a family place. it was not full of love and blossoming like spring.

she is right. it is a place of order with clear paths, perhaps this will appeal if you are simple man?

malila had suggested the right thing to do — for the man to talk to his son. maxim could not offer any advice on that matter either.

Military outpost? Well, that was something. Phox wasn’t sure if that was good or bad for Peregrine. It could be either, depending on his interests. Maybe the structure would be good for him. Maybe it would be too ridged. It was hard to say, but he would definitely take that into consideration. Peregrine would get a say, of course.

Hm, yeah. That gives me plenty to think about. I won’t keep y’all any longer, but thank you both for your input.