Qeya River jedan

the land was morphed by mountains, glaciers and a river. time had used its hands to shape the taiga in a way that only lightly perplexed senka. she wished to stay, to study, to battle across the lands.

but she had not come to battle her way into a home.

she was more mannered than that, sometimes.

upon the edge of the river's claim she stood and bellowed with baritones.

@Silvertongue @Wren

it is wren who emerges from the wood. her girls had been climbing atop her shoulders and back while her boys had been playing tug-of-war with her tail just a moment ago; the scents of her young and her wife cling to her pelt, and she wears it as if it were a badge of honor.
the shadows melt away from her figure as she moves toward the stranger, suspicion and caution woven into her expression. the girl who had made the call was notably tall, painted in cool, shimmering silver and smoky mauve. the prima is unsure what to make of her.
this is qeya river, she tells her, one tattered ear twitching atop her head. can we help you?

the woman who greeted her was just as large. yet she smelled of others, she smelled of these lands. in the way that senka did not. there were a handful of things that could have had lines drawn between them and a million more that did not.

help implies i give nothing. her head dropped down beneath her shoulders. a hunching figure so that she might be below the other woman's strong height

i would like to be in these lands so i might learn them. when i am here, i give my body to guarding. when i am not here, i am only looking around before returning, reporting the things i see.

was this enjoyable to the woman of qeya river?

she seeks a home here.
wren remains tight-lipped for a long moment, unimpressed until she hears the word guarding. the lowered stance of the woman earns a tiny chuckle from her. take it easy, kid, i'm not gonna getcha. name's wren.
so you're a warrior, she notes, taking a long look at the scars which are littered across the woman's figure. you're in luck. we need more sets of teeth. more strong women. but it won't be easy for you. rookies here sit at the bottom of the food chain until i see you're suitable enough to be anything more than that. we take as few risks as possible these days.
it was a diversion from the peaceful nature that riverclan once held, but a necessary one. she blows a puff of air from her nostrils to dispell the tension which racked her frame. that sound good to you?

kid. she thinks this must be a ranking, a title more than a truth. she was child no longer in any way or shape. resigned to be okay with it, that would just be her place until she proved herself.

just as the qeya woman instructs her.

senka, she started with tentatively but in turn she softened too. there was logic in the way she was to be accepted. that is good. i am still stranger, i do not deserve high treatment yet. it was a brief, toothy grin that she flashed before her features settled again. innocent and full of short lived blunted humor.

well, senka, wren mirrors the grin with one of her own. welcome to the team. we sure could use your help. you want a tour?
she motions with a forepaw for her to follow, lumbering toward the sound of the snarling current hidden behind a cape of evergreens.
y'know, we actually just moved up here not long ago, she chuffs as she guides senka toward a shallow crossing in the river's path. you came at just the right time. there's not many of us. just me, my wife, and one other family. hope you won't get bored.

a nod of her head, up and down. the sound of water enticed her as much as the scents that wren wore as a cloak. in due time it would become her own perfume too, nuanced in its own unique ways.

if i am bored, i am not doing something right. her tail waved behind her as sea-stone eyes examined the chilled lands. it was beautiful and expansive. boredom would not be able to find her for some time as she acquainted herself among the qeya river claim.

do you have other warriors within these families? i am eager to polish my skills against another.

senka almost felt too good to be true. she would not be trusted around the children just yet, at least not alone, but would be expected to provide for them no less. wren glances back at her and makes note of the eagerness in her tone.
nope, she shrugs, ears panning toward the sides of her head in a flash before they pop back up. well, we do have one guy who may be of interest to you. ksura. he's a wicked good hunter. and he can keep up with the gremlins when silver and i want our alone time.
across the river, the trees break away into a clearing, teaming with glacier lilies and heather. in the distance is a scattered group of does who pause their grazing to peel their gaze toward the two women. soon, the babes would be able to roam here, protected by the bounty of snowmelt; wren smiles absentmindedly to herself as she pictures the four little bodies loping through the brush, hearing echoes of their shrill laughter.

ksura.

this name was tucked away for later use, so that she might poke and jab at the man when she met him! to tell him how he was spoken of and how she might want to learn from him. one who hunted these kinds of lands would have to be physically skilled and she was inclined to pick apart those skills for herself.

you hunt them? she gestured to the does, unaware of the more pleasant thoughts her new leader might have held. senka thought only of what thriving in this place would look like.

love the pride avatar!

THANK U <3

you wanna? it sounded, to wren, more like an invitation, and now she saw a good opportunity to see what this senka was made of. she raises a brow before gesturing toward them, right as the deer disappear into the brush; a sweep of ochre amid the emerald which camouflaged their plump, summery bodies.
well, i guess they're not making it easy for us, she chuffs, settling into a trot with her nose pushed into the bloom. she does not gesture for senka to follow — only assumes that she will.

edit: tagged on a fade, just tag me if you reopen! :)

she did! yet she had not thought it would come so swiftly. she found herself energized by this woman and her quickness. decisive and sharp like a knife.

senka did not move with a trotting grace, but she galloped like a feverish wild horse. if wren meant to track then the newcomer to the river would be a bludgeoning force. i do not want easy! she bellowed a laugh and cared not if it startled the prey further.

together they would hunt and senka would solidify her bond as one of them.