Sunspire Mountains Gateway to Journeys

Open to anyone!

The last Duskfire had moved on from the Great lake. Parted from the feral agouti woman and her following. But not without creating a few stocked caches for her, spread out in the territory. She and her unborn children would need the meals. He had enjoyed his time with her well enough. It was Sovereigns he that he held dear. He had made a promise to his friend. To not abandon her, no matter what. Making good on his word, he headed east, trying to pick up her trail.

Ensio had washed away any traces of the other wolves with whom he had previously associated. Marked as a drifter once again. The travels were long, the nights cold. Lonely and silent. He was unmoved by any hints of temptation in the air that spring brought. Soft earth gave way to cold, hard stone. Elevated, rugged terrain of mountains. He breathed in deep, seemingly pleased as he admired the view. This was more like it. Suitable for one born of ice and stone.

assuming this placement near redsand just so I can sneak a thread with these two!! ^^

Someone drifts close to the veil of Tikal.

There is no hesitancy within a bone of Sabah's body to intercept them. 

You, She calls, chin high and tail flagging. Why you here? Demanding, she wants to know this answer. If there even is one. Do they know they are close to her home? Or do they wander without this knowledge.

Near Redsand Canyon is fine with me!

He was on a familiar path. He had been in and around these parts, once before. The Canyon was within his sights, but far enough away that he would not yet smell the lain scent marks of borders.

So, when a female stranger just as large ad he crossed to halt his path, his glacial eyes swirled with slight, cool surprise. She was straight to the point with her query. A quality the no nonsense Ensio could appreciate.

He took a single, non-threatening step back. As if to pardon any misjudgement on his behalf. "Only passing through. I have used this route once before, a long time ago." He was non confrontational. Oh how he knew not that Mereo no longer stood.  Her scent though, mingled with others, did grab his interest. [b]"If I am too close for your liking, I will find another way around."[/b[]He hesitated long enough to see what she would say.

This man did not act overly threatening, nor aggressive. Sabah was glad of this.

Just going through? Spoken as if she wanted confirmation, but she already knew the answer. It wouldn't be required. Sabah gives escort. That, or he would have to find another way. No stranger would pass through without someone watching.

"Yes. I would have considered checking in with the pack that resided here, when I was in the area last. Mereo, I believe they were called."/b] He remembered the dark man, Germanicus. A wolf he wouldn't mind meeting again.

[b]"Things must've changed. Your scent is plainly, not theirs." He accepted her terms of an escort without resistance. His simple courtesy, in waiting for her to lead, was proof enough. She gave a name...Sabah. And he gave his. "I am Ensio." He smirked. "You look formidable, Sabah."[/b]

He accepted the escort.

So, without wasting time, she waved her muzzle, gesturing for him to follow.

This man, called Ensio—he was a sweet talker. Sabah wasn't too fond of this, but kept this opinion to herself for the time being.

Ensio too looked formidable. She wondered. Ensio fighter?

He followed at once, keeping only a few paces behind her. Sweet talking was never something he had tried before. He usually was not the type. If he had known his compliment had not gone over well, he would dismissed it as if nothing had been said.

"A fighter?" He rumbled, thoughtful. ["No. I have no formal training."[/b] The notch in his ear was hardly a battle scar. ["But I am not afraid of a fight. Should the right opportunity arise, I would be open to training."[/b] He said, yet to know of Tikal and the potential they could offer.

He was not a fighter. Or so he claimed—... but his build suggested he should have been. 

Maybe he had been all the while and was keeping it from her. She could not know so soon.

Ensio want to learn? 

If he truly did not know what it meant to be a fighter, did he have any interest to begin with? If the answer was no, this was a topic spoken all for naught.

The line of his jaw stiffened, the glare of determination in his glacial eyes. His mother and father had been formidable warriors. He was every inch their son, the picture of untapped potential.

"Of course I do. But, only in the right conditions. Under the right teacher." His voice was clipped. Firm. But the words, not directed at her, personally. "I have been betrayed one too many times in the past." He did not trust easily and that was not about to change now.

He wanted to learn, but he had conditions.

Taking this opportunity where she could, Sabah turned, cutting off his path.

Deeply upon him, she stared, eyes set like stone; determined, confident. Stay. Learn. Be of Tikal. A place that sure made fine warriors and never turned their back on family.

His stony facade would never let it show, but he did like Sabah's stern, perhaps rough air. Like he was.  

She implored him to stay, to become part of this...Tikal. He was un-yielding. Staying impassive but not turning her down flat out. The Duskfire was a hard sell.

'What assurances can you offer?" His severe brows rose slightly. "I have no family. I am the last here, perhaps even alive, in this wilderness. The last wolves I trusted turned and walked out on me, without so much as a word."

What can you offer?

A question both welcomed and respected. Sabah liked that this man did not rush into things he did not know of.

New family. He'd stated he had none. Now he had the chance for a new one. Much teaching. For this is what he wanted: to learn. Respect. Should be properly earn it. 

And if this wasn't enough for him, she could recall a decent story of her own past to persuade him.

Young Sovereign was making rounds upon the edges of the Canyon when she thought she heard voices nearby. 

Dutifully and cautiously she began her approach, catching the tails of the conversation when her amber gaze fell upon a familiar figure. 

Her eyes brightened and she trotted forward with a wag of her plume "Ensio!" She called as she got closer, coming to stand close by Sabah but still respectfully distant

---

ajaw splits their time between patrolling, overseeing holcan sparring, and venturing to the neutral territories around the canyon.

the voices draw their attention, and their course veers, out of curiosity more than anything else.

ajaw soon comes across the trio: sabah, sovereign and an unknown male; gaze lingering upon him for a moment longer.

the boy could've been a son of ajaw, with his coloration ... if kukulkaan wouldn't have known better.

this one greets you. ajaw speaks in the tongue of many, defaulting to it when meeting strangers now. it served to make the redsand tongue all the more sacrosanct to them.

His lips pressed into a firm line. Contemplative of the prospect of a new family. He would be taught and respected, too. All were fine values, yet he was still skeptical. He had been about to answer Sabah when a flash of white fur, followed by a familiar voice, peeled his eyes away. "Sovereign." For only a split second, did his harsh mask slip away. Yielding something softer, fonder for his friend.

Were it not for the arrival of a third wolf, the Duskfire would have been hard pressed to restrain himself in marching forward to embrace the white girl in a hug. As it were, the appearance of the man struck him. Reminding him so, so much of himself. Of his deceased father and lost brother...

His greeting was...a little different. "And I to you." Ensio replied cooly, if not a little awkwardly. "I was just passing through, but now she..." He waved his muzzle towards Sabah. "...suggests I might join Tikal." No one had told him who was in charge. He made no assumptions, yet. "Sovereign is a dear childhood friend of mine." His ice carved eyes shifted between the Tikal wolves. Then, found Sovereign's gold, as if to say: 'I told you I'd find you again.', warmly.

Before this one can answer, Sovereign joins, only to speak this wolf's name as if they know them.

Sabah has the mind to question this, but ajaw arrives shortly after to intercede.

Unable to speak further, the holcan falls silent with a sullen expression, watching this all unfold.

Sovereign hears her Ajaw's words, glancing His general direction as He comes to intercept.
The yearling notes Sabah's curiosity as well as Ensio's gaze, the warmth in those icy pools. 
"He speaks truth." Sovereign says, though keeps herself postured in such a way as to defer to Ajaw and Sabah as the authorities here.
"This is my friend I told you of before, Ajaw. I did not think I would see him again, but I am proven wrong this day." She adds, swaying her tail softly at her heels. 
Her golden gaze flicks to Sabah to gauge the Holcan's reaction as well as her Lord's. 

Apologies if it wasn't my turn! I thought it was, but can delete if needed <3

it was your turn, liv! the positing order is ensio, sabah, sovereign & kukulkaan

---

childhood friends.

it reminds kukulkaan, briefly, of their own childhood friend, and ajaw wonders if there is a similar bond between the stranger and their holcan in training.

this one sees, ajaw hums, frostbound gaze flickering from the boy, to sabah, sovereign and then back again. is joining something tikal you have interest in? asks ajaw.

The one Sovereign referred to as ajaw took the lead, questioning Ensio on his interest of Tikal. He could only assume that this wolf was the one in charge. Not Sabah. His interest was peaked, no doubt. He still had reservations. Questions. Doubts to be smoothed over.

Just as he had with the holcan, he was open but not an easy sell. "Perhaps..." He rumbled cooly. "I am curious, but I do have a few questions, first." Sovereign would understand better than anyone here, his reluctance. "If you don't mind, tell me, what is Tikal like? I have heard it may be geared towards fighters and education, but I want to hear more." He nodded to Sabah, to account for what she had told him already. Now, he was looking more in depth.

Heretic has given permission to skip Sabah this round! Sorry for shortness  


Indeed, Sovereign understood the reasoning behind Ensio's need to ask questions. 
She stood by Sabah and her Ajaw with carefully contained excitement, body language deferred to them both and especially Ajaw  for His words on the matter.

The Only Thing They Fear Is You

---

what the holcan has told you is correct, speaks ajaw. tikal is a pack of great warriors ...and traders. of course, that was only on their sacred days designated thru each season ... but if the boy joined he would be told in earnest. there was diplomacy, perhaps, but that teetered on ajaw's own whims.

subjective, at best.

the holcan are this one's best warriors, a glimpse spared then to sovereign. your friend is in training to become one.

her dedication does not go unnoticed by ajaw.

though only women may hold the rank. that was how it had always been since before the dawning of the original tikal; and who was ajaw to break traditions long standing? still, there is room for other warriors, if that interests you. scholars. healers. hunters.

all were important to a pack.

Not sure if @Sabah and @Sovereign are still skippable.

He was thoughtful. A pack of esteemed warriors. And traders. With Sovereign training to become a Holcan, it sounded like a great fit for her. "I am interested in becoming a highly trained warrior, yes. And, I can assist in other areas as well." He was not enthusiastic, yet.

The Duskfire remained the picture of a wolf who was not easy to sway. Guarded, skeptical. The women were forgotten and he sought to hold the Ajaw's eye. To convey his sincerity and seriousness. "May I ask you one last thing, Ajaw? A...personal question." The final test. The answer which would dictate Ensio's path going forward.

---

then perhaps tikal is a fit for you. the invitation was there, tucked away in ajaw's words. simple. to the quick.

you may. ajaw responds to the young man, gesturing for sovereign and sabah to move back some ... in case it was private. to ajaw private and personal are in the same vein.

Once Sovereign and Sabah had moved back, giving them some privacy, Ensio gave ajaw his full attention once more. He lowered himself to his haunches, as serious as ever.

"Those of Tikal...yourself...how deep does loyalty run? What does it mean?" And before ajaw could answer or jump down his throat, he quickly added. "I ask this not to offend, but as a precaution." His cold eyes drifted away, to stare off somewhere unseen in the distance.

"I am young. But already in my short life, I have lost far too much and been betrayed at my most vulnerable." The clipped, hard tone in his voice was a shard of his pain. His anger towards what life had thrown at him so far. "I have learned not to trust so easily. I want to be sure of my decision, before I commit, so I may not regret it, later." He spared ajaw the details, for now. What he needed first was a straight answer.

---

ajaw listens as ensio asks his questions and gives voices to his concerns. these are not things that ajaw can directly relate to: though betrayal is not an impossibility, their holcan are devoted to them, as they were each kuhul ajaw before them. still, the feathered serpent tries to put themselves in the boy's position.

to validate and attempt to soothe the worst of his worries.

this one sees, ajaw murmurs. to be kuhul ajaw is to be a god imprisoned in mortal flesh and bone, ajaw explains. believe, or do not, but this is what makes tikal different. the wolves that follows this one are devoted. the holcan, are the most devoted. this one will be undyingly loyal to you for so as long as you remain one of tikal.

but betrayal is from the young boy, who has spoken of how many times he has known it, is not something ajaw worries about.