Duskfire Glacier this skin is tainted by wasted days

With a lot of things to consider from her recent trip, she detours through the forest of a rocky terrain. She tries to find the path she’d met the Phoenix wolf and get the chance to really explore. It teeters the line of safety between where she and the other pack could visit without any hostility. She’d been thankful when meeting the other it hadn’t been terrible and, perhaps, they’d get along in the long run. With no real hostility settled in her, her grand scheme could potentially save whatever relationship they had. Until then, an imaginary wall down the length of the river will continue to separate them. 

The night blankets the opening but with the snow on the ground, and half a moon above them, there is some illumination that won’t hide her out in the open. She shifts and remains on the tree line that borders to clearing. Thuringwethil keeps back, feeling a calm settle into her chest. With the plans laid out before, Gyda’s stubborn decision for children, and her own changes to Drageda, it’s nice to give herself some time to clear her mind and find the best solution for her troubles.

@Reek. enjoy this tired post

With tensions running high in the Maplewood, it wasn't healthy to stay behind to dwell in sadness or wallow loss. Reek was guided away by a desire to wander. He rose in the morning, and instead of taking his usual morning patrol, he passed the northern border by without a second thought and continued walking.

The sea of green the Maplewood had become tapered away into a land of ice and snow as Reek pushed into the Glacier. Winter's grip here, unlike the nearby territories to the south, remained strong.

Reek stopped his northward trek and looked around. It was a familiar place. He had fought and almost lost his life in this very place almost exactly a year ago. So much had changed between now and then. Now, it was only a distant memory of what was long ago. As Reek scanned the terrain, absently reminiscing about the past, he spotted a black form agaisnt the white of snow. He could already tell who it was from her smell: Thuringwethil.

He remained firmly in place and did not call for her. Instead, he watched from a distance, body alert.

The cool wind blows through her fur, leading a scent right to her nose that she knows all too well. It does not surprise her to turn and see Reek; she’d met another Phoenix wolf in this area not all that long ago. It’s safe for the both of them. Thuringwethil eases her posture but she does not—cannot—shed all of it. Her tail stiffens at half-mast, ears cupping forward, but she relaxes the tension between her shoulders so she can shift and face the other dark wolf. Neither of them offer to close the distance between them.

Without a river between them, the necessity for business doesn’t build up on her tongue, and so she only allows a slight nod of acknowledgement. The male can leave, if he wants, explore the territory on his own, or he can approach. Thuringwethil doesn’t force him into an interaction but she gives him the chance to build a relationship outside of their life. On neutral ground, away from the threat of either of their homes, she sees the distant male as irrelevant but she cannot deny the potential they could share.

Eventually, his presence levied her attention. Reek remained still until he saw Thuringwethil's tense body language drop— then, and only then, did Reek push forward in her direction. To be frank, he didn't know why he approached; he had nothing to say. The Maplewood was no longer his, nor did the deal they made carry any further weight.

He placed one foot in front of the other until he was closer to Thuringwethil than he had ever been before. This time, there was no river between them. "I lost the Maplewood," was all he could muster, the words falling limply from his mouth.

Reek approaches and the closer he comes, the more defeated he looks. She burrows her brows in confusion but quickly erases it from her features to give him a chance to explain. She doesn’t even have to wait long for an explanation and she feels herself tense up once more. Thuringwethil knows little of the Phoenix. Reek is the only leader she’s dealt with in the entire process, setting their boundaries, that getting a history lesson hadn’t crossed her mind. 

Her features become void from her face and she searches his to try and predict the next step. 

“A challenge?” she asks then, the only sign of an emotion is the slight tilt of her head. Seageda's own ways do not extend much further south until recently when Drageda had formed. Challenges for leadership had been rare and took way more than a physical force to remove a commander. This is not her concern for the moment, instead the agreement with Phoenix Maplewood isn’t going to shy away because they’ve lost a leader. She makes note to address this when she gets home. Extra patrols on that end of their mountain, frequent visits to the river, until Thuringwethil knows the extent of the new reign below her.

The weight of the news he offered finally hit hard. Grief tethered itself to his heart and Reek began to feel his spirit sink like a lead balloon; slowly drifting downward to never fly again. Had it been a challenge to his lead, perhaps Reek would have left with his pride intact— to have known he fought and lost would have been closure in itself. But this, this forcible removal, felt far worse.

Reek shook his head. "No," he said. "I made a poor choice— Now I have to deal with the consequences." His answer remained vague. Reek did not wish to speak of his broken mateship and the family he was leaving behind as it would only add to his grief.

Reek explains—sort of—what had happened and Thuringwethil’s face twists a little in confusion. It isn’t enough to garner any sort of opinion but the matters of Phoenix Maplewood are only important to her when it comes to them impacting that of Drageda. The dark male seems far more defeated than she’s ever seen him, normally proud and largely uncertain of himself, but smart of enough to keep boundaries and try to make amends where he could. Overall, she’s questioned his type of leading with the failure of Esaro, but she doesn’t push that in that moment. Now, her concern shifts.

“And the leader now?” she questions with a flick of an ear. Her slate grey eyes never leave the male’s face, her tone hardened despite how rough Reek appears to be. He’s lost his home, his pack, and she doesn’t know him well enough to console him. The Phoenix does not belong to her, and their only agreement holds a kill order. Does that remain intact on their side? Do they even know? Her jaw tightens as she waits, searching his face for some sort of answer before he provides a verbal one.

Of course, it was in Thuringwethil's interest to know to whom the reigns of Phoenix Maplewood were passed. Although leadership didn't necissarily change much with Reek's ejection, he certainly felt it did. The wolves who resided within the Maplewood he believed were his own— even still. Saena knew few among their clan; her connection to the pack as a whole had always been slim since returning injured. It had been his family that she had thrown him from: one that Reek alone had a personal report with. 

Reek's brow furrowed with a bitter sadness. "My ex-mate," he answered, knowing this would also probably answer some of the questions Thuringwethil had left unsaid. Reek let his answer linger for a moment before continuing. "The deal we made still stands," he added. The river remained the dividing line between the two packs. In Reek's absence, he was almost sure that the agreement between the two would be better enforced. Reek had always been a more laid back leader than Saena, who tended to rule with much more intensity.

Reek attempts at reassuring her that the deal still stands do not succeed. It’s foolish to think someone else might hold the same laws settled by one, especially when she had no knowledge of whoever his ex-mate might be. More questions come to mind, but she bites them back, and she isn’t in the mood for pulling teeth. “I guess we’ll see,” she offers with a shrug, putting it aside. Later, perhaps she’d approach the other leader to make sure but she could hope Reek’s speaking the truth until then.

“Where will you go?”

Of course, there was nothing Reek could do to keep the agreement between the two packs intact— that responsibility now rested solely on Saena. Time would indeed tell how she would handle it, however, Reek would not be around to see or shape the outcome. All he could do is hope that the wolves of the Maplewood would operate with their own interest in mind and that Saena would be a better communicator than Reek had proven himself to be.

The ex-alpha's eyes became suddenly downcast at Thuringwethil's question. He had put no thought in to where he would go from here; the only thing he knew he'd do is remain close so he could hear Saena's howl, summoning him back to see his children.

He shrugged in response. "I'll probably head west," he replied while mulling ideas around in his head. There were options -- none favorable -- but Reek would make due. He could travel to the coast, redevote himself to Caiaphas and live a simple life of servitude under the Nereides once again. However, Reek felt he needed time before he committed himself to a single plan. "Maybe I'll settle somewhere around Redtail Rise for the time being." The sentimental attachment to the terrtory alone was enough draw for Reek to consider temporarly squatting there.

Since we have the other, I'm gonna put a wrap on this one? Unless you needed something else, haha.

His plans don't sound concrete but she brushes them off with uncertainty. Whatever happened in the Maplewood left him shaken enough and she takes the key he will stop for a while to gather himself before he goes. Lingering so close to his old pack wouldn't be a wise decision. Thuringwethil hadn't stayed around Seageda during its demise and, for the most part, has benefited from the separation.

She nods her head, quickly mapping the layout in her head and where he might be going. Brushing it off, she glances back the way she'd been traveling back to Seageda. "Good luck, Reek," she tells him with a slight dip of her nose before her departure.

Sounds good! I'll go ahead and archive this!

"Thanks I guess," he spoke softly, utterly dejected. Luck was something he felt was on short supply, and while Thuringwethil could do nothing substantial to help his situation, Reek was grateful just for the kind words that lingered in her departure. She turned away and soon slipped back towards her territory. Left alone with nowhere to go, Reek remained in the Duskfire Glacier for a while as he planned his next move.

Perhaps it was a bad idea to stay so close to the Maplewood. The memories of what he had would always linger. Perhaps it would be more humane to rip the bandage now, leave the wilds completely, and start over under a new name. Enticing as that possibility may have been, Reek quickly shoved it from his mind. He would remain close for his children.

It was with a deep breath that Reek headed west and away from the glacier.