Redsand Canyon Lord, beer me strength.

backdated to 11/8 if that's okay <3

Goodbyes were getting easier. Staying in one place for such a short time, then moving on, lent itself to that phenomenon.

Still, though, Lilitu took a week to spend time with the wolves of Brecheliant before she departed again, working to fill the caches and keep company of the young ones. She would be back, eventually.

Maybe even with Arielle in tow.

The agouti woman left, and climbed the mountains, her thick fur a bulwark against the plummeting temperatures as the elevation increased. Soon, she was staring down upon the edges of a canyon—and as she descended, a familiar scent grew stronger.

@Germanicus's scent.

Her answers were here. She howled for the military leader, or anyone else who could answer her query. Then, she waited. All she could do was wait.

excellent! <3

germanicus was still taken with the exemplary nature of fennec's skill.

she was unassuming and observant. lesser wolves would write her off for her blindness. and she already had the makings of a fine self-defending rogue.

in many ways she complemented him with her skill. and complimented him with her presence.

"princess lilitu." he had taken a winding path upward when the the young woman had come to his borders. 

but she was without a guard or the scent of akashingo. "please," the imperator invited, stepping aside so she might enter at once. he would show her the way down to the canyon itself. "you are brecheliant once more," the darksilver man observed, for he knew teya and the fragrance upon lilitu's pelt was of the caldera.

She greeted the rugged soldier with a smile, and a nod to acknowledge his superiority here. They were winding their way down the paths to Mereo when he spoke again, and Lilitu glanced over, shaking her head in the affirmative once more.

I missed my family, Lilitu explained. I needed some time with them.

And speaking of. . . My sister, Arielle, she continued. I brought her up, when I talked about Ursus. With you. I need to know where exactly they are—or where you think they are.

The road before them flattened and widened, and she took the opportunity to spin and face him, face earnest. I need to find her, Imperator, she intoned, remembering the title she'd been given upon his visit to Akashingo. Can you help me?

germanicus gave a nod. "certainly i can."

he would bring her to the forum with its open red walls, and there in the red sand scrawl a map.

"when i knew of merrick, ursus resided in this valley. start in that place." germanicus studied the princess. "will you require an escort?" he stood back to allow lilitu a closer examination of his succinct directions.

The map sent her head spinning, but she shook her head. No more escorts. She was tired of being flanked as she had been with Akashingo.

No, I'll go alone, Lilitu replied. A valley? What's it look like?

It was very rude to cast Germanicus and company aside, but she hoped he understood. Her own gaze was fervent, burning into the warlord's own. 

She was to find Arielle, at all costs.

"it has one entrance here, and is shaped as the paw of a bear."

he saw the resolution in her eyes, the determination in the set of her jaw. and he wondered if she knew she wore the title of princess well.

"let mereo give you a meal and rest before you go. it is three days from here, if you travel through the night."

She took his description and clasped it close to her mind and heart, nodding solemnly.

But food, and a rest. . .

Okay, sir, Lilitu replied, smiling slightly. I'll rest here for a bit.

If they moved further into the canyon, she'd engage him in conversation. How many wolves do you have here? she asked. Pups? How do you defend such a strange territory?

"our numbers fluctuate. for now they are thirteen."

he set their path toward the commons. "there are four children here." he tried not to think of alivia and cornelius.

"look up, princess." his voice was a murmur. the watchful eyes of mereo sentries would meet her when she did so. it was their best defense.

The numbers were delivered frankly, quickly.

Ah, okay, Lilitu replied, smiling faintly. She followed Germanicus, giving a nod to the guards in the shadows that they passed along the way.

Once they'd reached a clearing, she rounded upon him. An entrance shaped as a paw of a bear, she repeated, fervent. Just here? In these mountains? Or elsewhere?

Lilitu batted her lashes at the general, cocking her head. I need to find my sister, Germanicus.

"the valley itself is shaped as a bear paw. the entrance into it is only one, and it is marked by red dirt." she was impatient and he understood.

but the rush would not bring arielle to her sooner.

"ursus was that way. east. three days," he reiterated. "the land will become flat and meadow-like. the valley is not far off after this. but you must leave the mountains first."

It was clear the journey would take some time, so best to seize upon the warlord's offer to rest here. She nodded along, mouthed the place names, trying to commit them and their relative directions to memory.

When did you see them, last? Lilitu asked. Have they sent any visitors or scouts recently?

Even as she spoke, she felt her eyelids tug downward, her legs growing weary. She stifled a yawn as she awaited his response, instead casting a brief glance around them, the rugged, rusty canyon and its many secret paths and hideaways.

Not unlike Akashingo, but more—much more—militant.

"not since the scattering of the saints from these mountains. once that was finished, they tracked their enemy from the sunspire. i have not seen them since."

the eagle let her eyes move for a moment and then said, "i am afraid i have no further information, princess lilitu. take the rest. when you wake we can speak again of the easiest routes to ursus."

wrapping here! sorry for the wait

She nodded in acceptance. I understand. Thank you, sir—I think I'll go rest now.

The two parted, with the sense of her mission growing impossibly broad. Still, if Lilitu was anything, she wasn't a quitter. She thrived being on the road; who knew what she'd glean in this journey?

For now, though—a nap.