Spotted Eagle Mountain orod

the woodswoman weaved trough the trees, felled, charred pines powdered with white, leaning against each other like soldiers limping home from battle. she ascended the mountain, and passed its lowest peak to emerge on the other side. the sun greeted her with a warm embrace.

medalina stood, toes curling over the sharp edge of a cliff, watching over two lows below. 

( soft pants chilled her throat )

on one side was a deep, rust-and-alabaster canyon. to the right a bowl of wood and churning stream. her eyes slid from one to other, deciding on a course of action.

finally, she descended.

hi this is intentionally vague, in a reply one can assume one of the following;

a) meda is closer to mereo
b) meda is closer to paleo
c) meda went back over the mountain, towards the flatlands 

<3

siku had never seen something so odd.

so beautiful in its oddity. whimsical and whispy, he wondered if it was even real. whatever it was.

however he did know that it did seem to be descending closer to paleo. closer to his new family. as of now they stood on free land, though. not claimed by paleo or mereo. out here he did not have to pretend to be a guardian or soldier against the other worldly beast.

he could just trail them, watching from a safe distance, but watching nonetheless.

weaving trough snow with as much ease as flat earth, was a skill slowly learned, always practiced. taking careful step and unyielding momentum to advance downward without losing footing, misstepping on covered stone or hidden burrow.

when the mountain's base approached, medalina turned her body sideways, and slid to a halt upon a large stone, jutting horizontal out the slope.

the пас watched the land of вукови. a huntswoman's sharp gaze sliced across the hollow. 

right below; a lake. beyond it, a forest. to the south, a heavier one. all good hunting grounds. and there, just by the river cutting trough - a deer, still with an unshed crown.

yet it was strange. as much as her eyes sliced the scenery into observable segments, there seemed no trace of вукови...

he watched.

enchanted, confused, anxious. what if the beast was some kind of omen.

he found he had no wish to wait and find out. he would keep them from paleo, but find out more about them all the same. he barked out a wary sound and began to close some distance.

braids whipped as she twisted - sharp movement and controlled motion - towards the source of the sound. she knew what it would be even before her gaze swept once, then twice, then saw the snow-furred, pebble-dappled вук.

heart accelerated. 

pulse a quiet thrum against the side of skull. 

she willed herself into stillness. 

the animal came closer.

but medalina did not run. 

once it stopped ( it would, she hoped ) the dog would stay quiet. first, she would exaggerate, mime, tension leaving her body. tail relaxing, head lowering. 

then, slowly, never looking directly at the вук, she would come to lay down on the snow. proper pose. head placed between forelegs.

( but hindlegs kept to sides of body, to propel her quickly up, if need be. )

they stopped.

he stopped.

closer now, he could see the odd way its fur hung and the twisted way of it in some parts. but they laid low, low, low. down upon the cold earth.

it made siku's gut twist in an odd way.

he raised a paw, wishing to near them but not knowing if he should stay away. if they might suddenly snap moods or if they had an illness to them. he held that pose. one paw raised.

peered cautiously at the mythical creature.

they each stood still. this seemed neutral. pendulum swung neither towards 'run' nor 'proceed'.

a drawn-out, steadying inhale trough her nostrils. cool air helped cool her nerves.

before doubt could set in; medalina rolled, baring her underbelly.

a moment.

she made a whiny half-noise. doglike, indecisive, between surrender and cautious greeting.

( her heart drummed so loud. )

slowly, cautiously, he stepped a bit closer.

close enough to investigate the odd shape hidden beneath tangles and wisps.

there was a musky scent beneath the notes of moss and rain. siku could not say what endeared him so deeply to this odd thing. maybe he could...

what would wylla and mahler think? his cheeks burned hot.

can you...stand up?

as the вук came close, she remained calm.

it was spoken word that surprised the woodswoman.

medalina rolled onto her belly, legs splayed to a side. snow tangled amidst braids.

"yes." said with firmness, reflecting how muscles tensed, studying how the hunter might react to her sudden movement.

her heart drummed.

increasingly, with determination.

yes!

he did not know why he was alarmed to find out it had a voice. he awkwardly shuffled back a step or too. feeling much like he was invading the personal space of somebody — and not the space of a possible mystical creature or prey thing.

do you need help or something? you came kind close to my home...

not worryingly so, but he was here anyway.

no baring of teeth, no threaning motion.

just a вук, confused. 

not familiar with her species.

she snorted, now aware. she was foreign. чудна. the animal was curios, uncertain. is this prey, competition or danger? she imagined it asked itself. 

this eased the sternness from her features. 

this calmed the heart to an acceptable rhythm.

her new goal was to present a fourth option.

"no-" words ran trough her mind, translated, defined. "no hah-lp."

slowly, she rose, clumps of snow rolling off her. head low, eyes on a spot on the animal's chest, avoiding its gaze.

"ai no nid hah-lp." monotonous, languid, compensating for pronunciation. "bat... yu?"

slight turn. her chiseled muzzle encompassed the hollow that was this вук's home.

"yu nid hah-lp? for vint'r?"

had it not been for the fact that mahler and emmerich both held accents, he imagined he may have been more dumbfounded. which was not to say he understood immediately but...

it was a bit easier. to connect dots.

his eyes turned towards paleo, now back to the fae-thing.

are you a hunter? do you know plants maybe?

he needed something, if he was going to attempt to bring back this...fae to paleo.

a nod.

"yes. hant. mi-" шумар. шума, forest. person. "woods... woman."

she raised a paw to her chest.

"know enimal. know lend. vish l'rn... vish..."

despite efforts to present as calm, neutral,

her tail began to sway.

"vish l'rn yu."

her eager gaze went up to the вук's face. 

swiftly, it drew back down.

but it was long enough to spot the oddity; an eye of autumn and an eye of spring.

woods woman.

some part of him felt relieved that that had been established. mainly because siku had thought she had been a bit musky underneath there but...well, he also had no clue what she even was.

but his cheeks became flamed with fire when he thought she said she wanted to learn him.

his lips lifted to form a small O.

earthen gaze fluttered away from her braided, tangled form.

you promise to be...good? you're not secretly a bad — thing. fae. beast. — woman are you?

this nod was more measured. "ai gud."

then, she realized, with surprise, why that specificity was asked.

"bat." firmness. her gaze raised to the animal's ears. "ai no..." become member. "join of yor hom."

"ai vish..." she'd used that word before. "eks-cheyng." again her paw rose. "mi, hant. heh-lp hant. heh-lp vith faind... plents. eni-thing."

"eks-cheyng?" 

and medalina pointed at the вук. 

"yu l'rn mi spik len-gauge. yu l'rn mi yor..." врста. врста. врста. "...yu."

"okei?"

and the ranger waited.

oh.

she didn't want to come back to paleo. that stung too. a fragile ego on a fragile boy.

"eks-cheyng."

he supposed that paleo was not entirely closed off to that. maybe if siku took up the part of helping her with this, mahler and wylla wouldn't mind. he could make it his responsibility to trade with this beast thing. like emmerich had the responsibility of guarding the hollow.

um. okay. let me...did i get this right?

he sucked in a soft breath.

you want to trade — exchange — with us? your hunting and plants and i learn...your language? is that what you wanted?

exchange. a mental note.

"no." quick shake. "exchange. mi hant, mi l'rn yor-" language. "language."

her frustration at the social barrier, found its output in a sardonic smile.

"mi no spik gud. he'r?"

edit: dw i actually plan to have her join paleo someday <3

he was embarrassed.

for himself, for her.

o-oh! he nodded his head softly. okay. sure. um. maybe it's just...you and me at first. meeting. learning. he enforced that word a bit more, wondering if she might latch onto it.

i'm siku.

meeting. learning.

both archived.

siku.

her first assumption was the name of its species. her mind was weighing the benefits of revealing her own, when realisation came.

the hound dipped her head.

"медалина."

meh - dah - leena.

her head rose.

"vhen start, siku?"

again, traitorous sways of the tail.

something new? <3

come when...when the moon is full.

selfishly he wondered if she looked just as enchanting then. without so much mystery but the whimsy would be plenty! his cheeks flushed hot beneath his pale coat.

i will have so much to teach you.

this he assured her, with soft warmth in his voice.