Redhawk Caldera when i say two words, three times

backdated for ~jan 23, calling for liquid time here.  limit two isn't a hard rule, but i do prefer quick-moving threads.

thoughts of her meeting with akashingo's pharoh circled around in her mind as she approached her second target of interest: brecheliant.  the packs were situated so close together.  though she appreciated the fact she didn't need to travel so far this time, she had never experienced anything like it.  surely they must get along, being so close to one another?  but what about resources, and the scarcity of winter?

she supposed it didn't matter.  not to her, at least. as she approached the border, once again she tipped her head to the air and howled for the leaders of the pack.

there was an abundance of meat now to be had by the lake. teya was returning from one such meal; she worried a slice of bone in her mouth, nipping away at the sharp edges. 
her attention was caught by a howl and then her eyes by a visitor, a very beautiful she-wolf with an elegance around her that could not be bestowed by this terrain.
the raven dropped the object; she padded closer to the borders with a gentle wave of her tail. "hello. this brecheliant. i teya." the coolwater eyes were curious.

once again, it did not take long for her to be addressed.  the wolf that approached looked almost familiar to her, though there was no reason for it.  she introduces the pack, then herself.  cerulean is relieved she has found the right place.

hello, teya, she says, dipping her head politely.  thank you for meeting with me.  i am marina, ambassador of the druids.  we have established ourselves on the coast, and are looking to form alliances with other packs. 

this part was always awkward for her.  she did not want to assume she was (or was not) speaking to someone who was authorized to make these negotiations.  she scarcely felt qualified herself.  so she stayed silent, hoping the question was implied.

alliances. druids. marina. teya blinked, a bit dazzled. but her countenance remained friendly. "this brecheliant. we building a new chapter in caldera." was it cruel to say? unfair? it was her pride, she supposed, her defiance of whatever had driven reyes and eljay away.
"what is purpose of druids?" she asked softly. "we have council in brecheliant. i not have final say on alliances but i will call auspex in a bit."
she too was awkward, finding her footing in this discourse unsteady.

she liked teya.  it didn't matter that the structure of her sentences were broken, or that she introduced brecheliant a second time.  cerulean had patience.  what mattered was that the woman didn't intimidate her, or make her feel out of place.  even the listener, who cerulean respected greatly for the gift of residence and aid, had her feeling this way.

our mission is to help others.  we seek only knowledge, to better ourselves, to hone our skills. she explains with a smile.  as if to make her point, bridget is staying with us.  she asked us to let you know she is well.  she came to us gravely wounded, but she is recovering.  she will be coming home when she has healed enough to make the trip, and we will have one of our escorts come with to ensure her safety.

bridget! this elicited a wide and expression look from teya; for a moment the little violet hardly moved or breathed. "she alive? i — looked. far." a rapidfire blinking. "you say she wounded? what happened?"
never mind that this was meant to be a diplomatic mission.
teya focused fully upon marina, waiting for any more news of the cardinal who had so swiftly disappeared. she felt faltering, out of place.

Eljay heard the call and headed it, but he arrived later than Teya. What he found instantly rendered him protective; Teya seemed to be feeling uneasy, although Eljay didn't see any aggression on the other wolf's face. Still, he hurried there, looking guarded and protective as he drew up next to Teya. He gently bumped his shoulder against hers and glanced at their visitor. He'd missed all of the conversation so far.

It took him a few seconds to come up with something that didn't sound too defensive (such as 'what's going on here?'), and in the end he settled on What happened? which honestly didn't sound much better than his first instincts, but time was running out and he had to say something at least.

bridget's name causes the other woman great surprise.  a warm, bountiful smille is offered in return.  it placated her, if only for a moment, to have given such news.

another wolf made his appearance.  he was cautious, weighing her from the corner of his eye.  cerulean was unbothered.  she didn't know if he had heard anything she said, so she explained from the beginning.

i am marina, of the druids.  we live on the coast.  your friend bridget is alive.  she asked us to send you a message, to let you know she is well.  the tip of her tail gave a slight wag.  she was severely injured when she arrived on our islands, though she is recovering.

she paused.  for her sake, i will allow bridget to tell the rest of her story.  she did not want to fill in any details that bridget might want tell — or keep to herself.  once she has recovered enough to make the trip, we will escort her home.

eljay arrived. teya was happy for his presence. marina was gracious enough to make her introductions a second time. "bridget is safe," she exulted to the auspex, rather redundantly.
that the druids had saved their companion was reason enough for friendliness between the packs. but as brecheliant had always done, it was not a choice that only teya could make.
"marina says mission of her pack is to help others," she added for eljay. perhaps healing could be another thing traded between them.

The mood changed quickly when introductions were made. Eljay's initial hostility melted away easily as Marina shared that they had found Bridget and that they were taking care of her until she was better. Teya repeated it, and Eljay smiled at her, looking visibly relieved. Thank you so much! Eljay said as he looked back at Marina, with a broad smile. How far is it? Can we — he glanced at Teya, Do you want to go see her? Maybe Teya could travel with Marina back to the pack if it was easy enough. Eljay totally missed Teya's hint a the fact that Marina's pack were healers of some kind, so relieved and surprised he was to hear that Bridget was alright.

i know this thread is old now, but i would totally be willing to work with y'all if one of you wanna come to BW!

the delight of these wolves is contagious.  her tail begins to wag (though not too much).  you're welcome, she says before the man goes back and forth between marina and teya. 

it's far, she admits, addressing both wolves, past the mountains, on the coast.  there is no land bridge; you must swim to get to the island.  however, i am sure that bridget would appreciate seeing a familiar face.  i am willing to lead you — or someone in your place — there if you wish.

since a lot has happened IC/drama wise, setting it up for a future meet!

yes. she wished to go. and it shone brightly in her face. she wanted to bring bridget home. 
but it sounded as if blackwater was far beyond where teya had gone before.
she exchanged a look with eljay. a journey such as this could easily take weeks. their pack was small. she was not sure if they could spare even a single body at this time.
frustration thrummed inside her. "maybe if you escort bridget, i meet you halfway. how long you think; how long you think it take bridget to heal fully?"

Eljay nodded as Teya suggested meeting halfway. He wasn't sure if it would work with Bridget, and he wanted to coax Teya to go now, if she needed it; but he didn't know if her motives to stay were truly entirely selfless — wanting to be there for the pack — or if there was something more behind it. He didn't want to risk pushing Teya into going now if she didn't really want to go. He looked at Cerulean, waiting for the answer; he hoped it was possible. He knew how much Bridget meant to Teya, and of course she meant a lot to Eljay, too — he hoped she'd recover soon and that they could meet her soon.

cerulean is referring to chimera fields, up against neverwinter forest

she had to think about the travel. bridget's missing limb meant scaling the mountain was off the table. they would have to go around, following the coast. after a moment she hums. 

i am no healer. i am not certain how long it will take her to recover. i think we should wait until the first weeks of spring have passed. ice and snow were not something she would want to impede their travels. i can escort bridget and meet you — northwest of here.  there are large fields near the coast. we can come to the edge of the forest.

a thought crosses her mind. swept up in the emotion, she had forgotten all about her other task.

at that time, i would also like to speak about an alliance.  will that work?

teya swept her mind toward the descriptions and nodded. "brecheliant be there. and yes. we discuss alliance then." but what could they offer when these blackwater wolves had found, patched, and returned bridget?
there would be time enough for it.
she nodded at cerulean with a smile. "will you travel back now? or do you want rest?" she asked, seeking her own diplomacy.

Eljay didn't like alliances very much. He hadn't forgotten how Towhee's alliance with Moonspear had driven away Wraen back in the Copse. He would always put his own wolves above those from another pack. Yet it seemed the way of the wolves here and Eljay nodded when Cerulean asked about discussing an alliance. How could they deny such a thing to wolves who had nurtured and cared for one of their own, and were then willing to bring her back to their fold to boot? They owed Cerulean's wolves, that much was true, and the Auspex wanted to honour their wishes. Of course, he said with an appreciative smile on his face.

Teya offered hospitality to their guest, for which Eljay was grateful, and he waited to hear the response.

fading!

business talk seemed to kill the mood, at least a little, and she did not like the way it made her feel.  but she took them up on the offer to stay and rest, and hopefully the evening would turn lighthearted again.  in the morning, she would bid them adieu with a promise to reunite them with bridget in the spring.