Blacktail Deer Plateau XXXI

@Avicus @Prophet @New Snow @Ashlar @Masquerade @Redd @Lilia @Bobcat, visibility tags! feel free to join also!

the rise had come to claim the killer.

the sniffles and coughs had not dissuaded the man. he led his pack a good distance from the borders.

the killer had been here. her own paws carried the scent. and though the track was faint, it was there, heading away from the mountains.

augur looked to red woman. he was ready to follow. but for now he would defer to her. perhaps the wolves of this place knew more of who they pursued.

New Snow kept near. She did not presume to overtake the stride of Mountain Boulder, Red Woman, or Red Woman's man.

New Snow wanted to be helpful but would not overstep.

She moved to her own mans flank, looking around them with swiveling ears.

Lilia travelled quietly once they got moving. Now that things were really happening, it began to dawn on her that this might not seem as simple or exciting as she wanted it to be. Or maybe she was just rattled by the sound Masque made when they coughed.

She stayed far away from the other youth, not wanting to catch whatever sickness it was that they had. She wondered to herself if it made any sense to bring them along, sick as that. But if Avicus had seen any threat to their presence, she would’ve said something.

The plateau loomed; Lilia leered, whiskers pushing forward as she waited for the next command or explanation.

they come in force.

their scent strikes ingram as familiar in the way of nostalgia as he scents them along his borders: briefly and faintly scented upon the ungracious cub's pelage beneath the pungent scent of blood that had clung to her like a death omen.

and then again: a teasing willowisp caught during one of his patrols ...shortly before the girl had taken flight.

he knows not whether she lives, whether she has made it back to her home or not. given the severity of her wounds and ash paw's words and his own assumptions that she could not have been healed nearly enough he suspects not.

the daedra prince greets the warband by his kingdom with a rise of his chin. i am ingram, dreadfather of this place. basilica. he offers because he is the sole decision maker here and this warband was his to deal with.

you have come for the girl? the half statement and half question lingers in the air for the taking: seaglass studying them to see who would come forth and speak to him. perhaps he was wrong, perhaps, like with ash paw, he jumps to conclusions too soon.

just realized i might've not been supposed to join this. let me know if you want me to delete it! <3

you're good!

 

Avicus follows doggedly, trailing Augur until they approach the border, upon when she surges past her huntmaster and sets her paws just shy of the mark between claimed and unclaimed land.

she's lifting her muzzle to howl when her peripheral vision catches movement ahead, and she shifts her shoulders, staring at the rugged man with a jaundiced eye.

ingram. basilica.

then: you have come for the girl?

confusion ripples plainly, for just an instant, over her careful countenance. for starters, Nyra is no girl but a grown woman; are they speaking of the same wolf? and second, the man has coughed up her presence here without hesitation.

they're not hiding her. they're not ready to fight.

big whihe woman, Avicus confirms, though there's a halting query painting her words. kill one of our wolvehh'—an' not for de firhh' 'hime. we come for revenge.

augur appraised the man as he came near.

new snow too was close.

these wolves did not seem ready to attack. his ears tipped toward red woman and he listened to their word sounds. though he recognized little.

Lilia can be skipped in preference of conversation if you'd like :3

One wolf came to meet them. A warprince of raven and silver, with seagreen eyes that were calm but commanding at the same time. His approach was authoritative; he did not seem intimidated by the band of wolves drawn to his border by the scent of murderer's blood. When he spoke his name, Lilia felt something coil and stir in her belly, and she watched him with a wary, clear gaze bewildered slightly by the fluttering wave of instant attraction. Dreadfather. The word made the fur along the nape of her neck prickle. 

Her thoughts were kept secret, and she remained stoic and silent, sensing that this would be a conversation for just Ingram and Avicus. He knew their intentions, apparently, which made her shift her stance. Avicus confirmed their intentions. Lilia looked back to the captivating man, wondering if he would defend the woman, or hand her over- praying that it would be the latter.

Something about the way he had called the murderer the girl gave Lilia the feeling that she was not a part of his pack. Calling her the girl was detached. It was something to be glad for- as it meant perhaps they would not have to go to war against the handsome Dreadfather...

also skippable, unless / up until (if they do) things escalate! (I'll be keeping track but throw me a tag as well please <3)

New Snow watched, remaining near her mans flank. Her eyes were appraising of the stranger, who seemed in good health. He came alone, and did not respond in a physical manner that could only be answered with violence. New Snow sniffed at the air, eyes shifting from speaker to speaker. They spoke things which she, like her man, could not interpret. New Snow counted entirely upon body language, and waited.

his assumption was right — for what else would drive an army of this size to his borders? — as the woman in red speaks. large, white woman. woman was a bit much, ingram thinks as he very much still considered the woman ash paw had attempted to heal a cub. killed one of their wolves — a repeat offense.

for a moment, ingram is quiet.

she was here. my mage found her and attempted to heal her. ingram tells them: because this was not his battle and he would not go to war for a girl who had been nothing but ungracious as far as he cared to see it. at any rate, he doubted she'd survived the journey back to her home but in case she did: he'd already made up his mind that he would not interfere with the blood magick she'd called upon.

according to my mage her wounds were severe and she was only here for two weeks, at most. she left, snuck out in the middle of the night. i do not know if she survived her trip back to her home, a place my mage told me is called hildibrandr, ingram tells them: laying all the cards out upon the table. it seems unlikely given that she was expected to be healing for a few months. but hadn't he already assumed that she wasn't wolf? that she was something otherwordly?

i tell you this because she owes you a blooddebt. i will not interfere with the bondmagick she cast upon herself by taking a life that belonged to you and yours. his gaze is unwavering as it focuses upon the red woman who had spoken to him, for them. i am willing to go with you, to prove that i and mine are not trying to pull anything over on you. as prisoner or as collateral damage: if they wished it.

she isn't here.

that's the first, most important bit of information she registers. the second, that she's wounded. and the blood debt. . .it goes above her head, but she thinks she knows of what what the man speaks. Nyra had racked up a blood debt, anyway, upon killing her mother.

wha' way 'hhe go? Avicus asks sharply, brows drawing together.

she looks to Augur. once a direction is established, he should be headed that way. her indigo gaze burns into his face, hoping he can catch her meaning from a simple glance.

i. . .'hhank you, she adds, and turns back toward the Dreadfather once more. believe you. buh' we needh'a findh her.

augur out! <3

one flash of the indigo eyes was all that he needed.

augur went off with a hard bark for footsoldiers to follow in his wake.

he would not fail.

south-west. mostly south. ash paw had not been able to give him much more than a pack name and this general direction had been deduced when he had briefly tracked her. but he had not gone far. he hadn't cared about her welfare enough to ensure she made it home safe ...or at all.

ingram was ready and willing to be held until the ungrateful cub was found and justice was served and is surprised that he is not. if only because it was something he would've done would roles have been reversed.

seaglass gaze watches as the ivory man departs, before his gaze travels back to whom he assumed was the leader — at the very least of this expedition — i wish you luck.

New Snow also out!

New Snow looked to Red Woman, ears twitching, and heard Mountain Boulder move. She lingered for a beat until her mate sounded off to them each in a way she fully understood, and then she followed at his hip. 

They were on the move. And New Snow was prepared to follow, wherever it was that they went.

There would be no vengeance, but Lilia had found something new regardless. The spark of the Dreadfather’s eyes a flash from flint stone. She stiffened when it seemed they would linger for no more than a moment. Augur turned to continue the hunt, and Lilia felt herself bristle in annoyance. 

They wouldn’t have blood, and she wouldn’t get to see more of this man who’d caught her eye. 

Brazenly, though, she flashed him a brief but intense flash of her gaze, the corners of her lips drawn into a hungry smile. Then, she flicked her tail, and dashed off after Augur.