Shadewood nessun dorma

for @Themis :eyes:
song

The quiet wood was slowly filled with the sound of his voice
nessun dorma…
nessun dorma…
It felt strange to sing so softly. When he sang this, or any song from the opera house, it was the only moments where his voice was truly heard. It soared above crowds of men and woman. And now -
tu pure, o principessa…
- now he can barely hear himself.
guardi le stelle
che tremano d'amore, e di speranza.
the yearling slowly weaved through the trees. unbeknownst to him, he was heading towards claimed lands.

Themis felt a little weighed down.

Bullshit, if you asked her. Why couldn’t her children just. Develop outside her and not make her feel like a beached whale. But, she digressed, in the words of her predecessors…”eh. Life sucks.”

Song was what drew her from her maternal fussing over her den area. She dropped the stick she’d been using to carve out dirt in the front, twisting to follow the sound as it bounced through the trees. Themis was on it like a hound on the hunt, sliding effortlessly through the trees like liquid mercury.

At the end of her meandering roam, she found him, heading towards the borders she meticulously kept.

Hey. She said, going for suave, cool headed pack leader as she leaned against a nearby tree.

Youre a good singer.

Clueless he was, until a woman appeared before him. All the markings upon the border seemed to flow into his nose at once.
She was small in stature, smaller than he was. That was a shock, considering everyone in his life thus far seemed to tower over him. He had never seen someone as scarred as her either, especially not a woman.
His eyes widened with surprise, both from her appearance and her compliment.
eh, thank you. He turned his gaze. i am sorry, i did not realize someone was living here.

Themis gave a little shrug, smile slightly strained. Living in the woods in the dark didn’t exactly make for good socializing.

Hey, don’t worry about it. We aren’t established yet.

Something in the part of her brain marked “business” pinged, but Themis was good at ignoring that annoying little thing. She’d let it affect her later.

Im Themis, and I’m running this place. Oi Kryfoí is what I call it.

He’d listened into stories of other villages from the hunters and soldiers in the streets of his own. The wolves from faraway places were quite aggressive. Barbaric even, by the sounds of it. ”they’re ruthless,” he’d hear those men say. ”they’d tear into a man’s flesh for just looking at their claim,”
Yet here he was, standing before the most laid back woman he’d ever seen. On top of that, she was the one that governed whoever lived here. Another anomaly to add to the list.
you rule alone? there was a twinge of bewilderment in his voice. is there no king?

He asked outright.

A king.

She smiled at that, tail slowly moving at her back haunch, ballooned out as she was with life.

There is. Said the Vasiliás.

You're looking at her.

Ah, so there is a king! Not everything was different as the way it was back home. He’d half expected some burly man with a metaphorical crown to appear, or perhaps a tattered old soul, neither of which came. Nobody came. It was only her and she called herself a king.
His eyes fluttered. She was not short of surprises it seemed.
r-really? but are you not a — ? He cut himself short and cleared his throat. i am sorry, i dont mean to offend. it is just, eh, where i come from women can only rule alongside men as his queen.

No, I’m not a man. I’m a woman, and I am King. They’re statements that can coexist. She was smiling as she said it, a joking tone to her light voice, but even as she said it, she was twisting her narrative, planting the ideas, weeding out the ones that no longer worked.

Gender was an odd thing, especially when connected to a societal role. Themis smiled.

Even where I come from, only a man can rule as king. But see…they didn’t do a very good job most of the time. So, I claim the title, and I get shit done.

Perhaps they could coexist out in this unbound world. Strange as it may be — and he thought it very strange — there was something… well… fascinating about her disregard for the norm.
And there was something humorous about the lives they shared, and the men within.
The yearling laughed lightly. maybe we come from the same kingdom. t’e men where i come from, they were not so intelligent either. It was strange to confess aloud. Fear of punishment crept along his back, but he reminded himself he was no longer in the presence of noblemen.
i hope t’e men here are better? If there were any here to begin with that is.

Themis gave a nod.

Yep, far, far better here. They listen to me, even if my role is far from traditional, in most senses. She stood up straighter, raising her head a bit in a proud arch.

My pack here, we are known in my mother tongue as “the Hidden Ones”. It’s what I strive for, a sanctuary for those who want to hide, or be hidden. Hell, you don’t even have to use your real name if you want. Aliases are encouraged.

Themis confirmed his wonder with a nod, and assured they were far better than the men from their respective villages. And they obeyed her. It was such a foreign concept; to imagine men bowing to a woman. 
It was almost frightening to be confronted with something besides the norm. Hidden ones; a sanctuary where woman rule and you could shed the name, the very identity, given to you at birth. 
His breath quivered from a hesitant excitement.
i do need to hide, he admitted softly. do you… have room to spare?

He needed to hide.

Themis smiled, gave a chuckle.

So do I.

She hid from many things. Pidáo, the golden pharoah and his redstone throne, the Saints she had once fought against, allies and friends alike.

She gave herself a shake.

We have plenty, if you have a want to stay.

He was unsure how the woman would answer.  Such lack of knowledge — especially with a decision that could lead his path down one path or another — brought about a nervousness. Had he the ability to sweat he could fill buckets with it in that moment.
Her answer came eventually. The yearling let out a breath of relief.
i do, yes. please He nodded swiftly. i-i could —
Sings for her and her people? Chart the stars in the night sky? Name the flora that grew in the wood? In that moment he felt his skills to be lacking at best and embarrassing at worse. Such an mighty woman as Themis would surely laugh. 
He shook his head in the hopes of ridding of the blooming warmth in his cheeks. 
w-well, i can contribute.

Her face softened, just a smidgeon.

Another lost soul, another chess piece, another living being she could at least attempt to advise.

She wanted to laugh, for a moment. Fucking gods, who let her do this to herself? She wasn’t cut out for this leadership thing.

But she had to be. For those like this young man, like Vorilye, like the things she had wanted to see in the world when she was young and fighting for her life, or running for it.

Its okay if you don’t want to decide yet, if you have no idea what you want to do. I swear it, on my own life. Nothing needs to be decided, until you decide it for yourself. Nothing good comes from forcing people to make decisions before they’re ready.

we can fade here or with your post if u want!

Thankfully he was not forced to spit out a resume then and there. There would be time to pick a job more suitable for this group, whatever that may be. He would learn in time.
thank you, he sighed. The relief was evident in his voice. you will not regret this.