Silver Creek hermae

In the faint light of dawn the Prince sought @The Umbra. In the shadows his gilded face was an unreadable mask, a soldier's stoicism. Come, he beckoned when he found the woman. The Queen has ordered that we secure the borders by sundown.

Makhai did not wait for a response. He turned to take the lead, shoulders stiff and head held as high as any man accustomed to a position of command.

Eyes made of dark-edged labradorite opened at his command, a stark contrast against the darkness in which The Umbra was shrouded. She had found a place of comfort below gnarled roots of a rather rotted stump, its once proud pole lying amongst the grass with green fluffy moss blanketing it.

She uttered the smallest huff as she rose, a little resistant to leave the quiet below, but he was her Prince and she was his to command.

“Of course, Your Highness. Lead on, Prince Makhai.” She padded after him, her steps quick and light, to an untrained eye it would look as if she were floating—a living shadow.

His jaw tightened slightly at the honorifics she used. It was much the same as he'd been accustomed to throughout his life, yet some part of him had still dared to hope for something different here. A new way of living, perhaps, though Makhai knew the Gods would never grant him a new life entire.

It was this lingering hope, now a burning irritation under his furs, which prompted him to speak. Call me Makhai when we're alone, the Prince implored, casting a sideways glance at the Royal Guard to see how she received the words. His voice was softer than before, not quite a command anymore; perhaps closer to a plea, at least for a wolf who had been raised with the knowledge that he need never ask for a thing. Royalty did not ask.

She returned his side-long glance as she reached his side, an upturn to the corners of her lips as she nodded, a small laugh. “Makhai, when will you learn that I enjoy ruffling your feathers?” 

He was a few years her junior, and though he was much larger, she never refused a chance to poke at the Prince. She was his to command, yes, as much as she was Europia’s and Thalassa‘s, but she was also their friend.

“What do you think of this place?” They were a long way from home, but this place had potential to become their second. A place to rebuild and reform.

For the barest moment his surprise flashed in his dark eyes; Makhai could never quite get used to the notion that The Umbra paid him any attention at all. His expression quickly fell back into practiced stoicism, but his thoughts lingered there. They were wolves fashioned into weapons, both of them, but made for such vastly different purposes. One wrought in the shadows, one crafted to burn like the sun. Why should his Queen-sister's protector notice him at all?

Makhai was nearly grateful when The Umbra went on with a question of her own. Mm, he thought a moment. Quiet. These woods haven't housed wolves in some time, I'd wager. A blessing for them, perhaps.

The Umbra did not miss much; his look of surprise was no exception. 

She did not acknowledge it, however. There was no reason to--they were all weighed down by enough burden and scrutiny from those who no longer grace this plane of existence.

May the King and Queen rest peacefully in the Shadows upon the Raven's wing.

Her ears twitched at his words. It was indeed quiet, mostly untouched, not a soul around to undo what must be done here. Before their arrival, she had left them to scout ahead, only stopping short of the clearing to allow their steps to grace this place. The woods that bordered the creek-split glade were silent, waiting, as if holding its breath in preparation for what may transpire here.

"Yes, I do think you're correct. There were no scents of others, nothing that lingered. A good place to replace what has been lost."

Makhai halted to mark a tree with long scratches down its trunk. He brushed a shoulder roughly against the jagged marks to leave strands of black fur behind, and moved ahead to find another place to mark. For several long minutes he worked in silence, leaving traces of the Corax wherever he went.

So you think we will, the Prince commented after a time. Replace what was lost. It seemed a foreign concept to him. Their kingdom had been vast, their history so ancient as to be untraceable to its true origins. Now they were nothing; royalty in name only, and so few of them at that.

"In a way, yes." 

Her wording had been a little...insensitive, she knew. They could never return the lives lost, that was true; yet, she never doubted they could become great and rebuild their kingdom. Thalassa, Europia, Makhai. Her faith in them knew no bounds.

The shadow mirrored the young prince, adding her own scent to assist in their claiming of the silver creek territory.

"Your family's history may be etched so deeply in the past, but, don't forget, Makhai--we all have a hand in writing our own future, our own destinies. Their stories may have been erased, but you--and your sisters--can rewrite them."

Yet our Prophet would have us believe that our future is already written, the Prince countered softly, but his tone was thoughtful as he glanced at The Umbra. You mean to say that you believe otherwise? Makhai held much respect for Haedwig, yes, but fear too. He wondered at times if it was truly the Fates weaving their story, or if Haedwig herself was the master of their loom.

Dangerous thoughts. Treasonous thoughts.

He focused again on his task.

“Perhaps they are already written, but there are finer details that we ourselves can control—you will see in time.” She clapped a paw to his shoulder. It was a gesture of solidarity and familiarity, one she would not make for others to see, but a comfort for him in these quiet moments.

“I have known the Prophet for many years, as you well know, and she is rarely wrong. I do not speak against her; I’m simply,” she shrugged, “an inquisitive mind.”

Her paw dropped as she let him go. Her sympathy trailed him as he worked. He has lost much—they all have. She couldn’t imagine the weight they all bore on their shoulders, but she would do her best to ease what she could.

Fade? <3

Makhai tensed for a moment at the contact, and relaxed just as quickly, remembering that they were alone. Even so, few dared to touch him so casually. He nodded somewhat absently as The Umbra went on, appearing absorbed in his task. But the Prince was lost in thought.

Fate. How to change a fate?