Sleeping Dragon witch hunter

@Thuringwethil

 

Gluska’s lean figure trailed carefully along the border of the nearby pack. His narrow muzzle was pointed towards the earth as he drew the scents in around him. It was a full group, or so he could tell. The multitude of aromas that stretched from their marking points was promising. It would mean that they had many bodies in their midst. And hunger ached at him like a steady pain in his gut.
 
Kalista had disappeared somewhere. Gluskap had not been able to follow her. This was concerning to the coywolf male for many reasons, but not being able to keep his eyes on her was most relevant at that time. With the lack of food in the Teekon area, it would not surprise the wicked little creature if wolves began to die off… or turned to alternative means of food.
 
Slowing in his trek, as well as allowing his mind to draw to Kalista once more, the wiry wolf wondered whether or not she had found sanctity inside of a pack. Certainly she would not have attempted to enter the ranks of Caiaphas’ home… at least, not without him. Or so he would hope. She would be alright on her own. The dark-toned wench was talented enough to lure even the sharpest of tools from the shed. She would find a way to survive.
 
Casting his sister from his mind for the moment, Gluska peered cautiously at the pack, nearing the edge of their lands and letting out a soft yip to sound for nearby wolves.

No amount of scouting would bring them solace. There isn’t a shred of green left for miles, whatever herds in the area were gone, finding food they could actually eat. If they were smart enough, they’d follow behind them and keep close, but uprooting eleven wolves and a potentially pregnant female doesn’t seem like an ideal plan. Rats covered the dragon, and with the help of dead bugs helped them, but it isn’t enough to feed them for long. Eventually, they’d get the hint they were being hunted, but in the meantime they tried to keep their bellies satisfied and their caches full.

It won’t be long until their resources are depleted.

Thuringwethil, however, manages to sweep up a rat with surprising ease and devour it in only two bites—bones and all—and if it hadn’t been for the perfectly timed yip and the time between bites, she wouldn’t have heard the wolf at her borders. The young leader remains easy on her feet as she trots and, once the wind carries the scent of someone unknown, she begins to slow. She slinks out into the open, head squared above her shoulders and her tail arched over her spine. She quirks one eyebrow as both ears cup forward in question, what do you want?

Won 4 on even dice roll for her caught rat.

It didn’t take long before the inky figure of another wolf drew closer to the borders. A female with sharp eyes and an expression that would have curdled milk. The ochre-tinged male allowed his dark lips to curl ever so slightly as she closed the small amount of distance, and bobbed his head towards the earth. Gluskap was a bit off color but he did not entirely disfavor the common ceremony of approaching claimed land as a loner. He knew that he had no place there and his dark-furred companion held all of the power. But he was still uncouth and a wicked trickster. His sharp yellow eyes darted upwards for a heartbeat and then settled in the empty space above her head, avoiding direct contact.
 
“Are you accepting wolves into your pack?” he inquired with a slight tilt of his head. No need for formalities when all he really wanted to know was if he could seek shelter there and find rank within her brood. Gluska knew himself well enough to appreciate his ability to embrace his surroundings and fasten himself to them. He was coy, yes, and even brash at times… but he was not stupid.

Thuringwethil watches the way the wolf shifts, keeping his eyes averted in an upward fashion, rather down, and it causes one ear to flick curiously. Her face doesn’t hold the expression—it doesn’t need to—and he presents his question. Perhaps to give some semblance of talking to her but she knows it doesn’t quite settle well in her stomach. It isn’t enough for her to acknowledge as more, or to discard the loner now, so she sets it on the back burner.

“For the right wolf,” she tells him with a smooth tongue. He is smaller, maybe at least half her size, but so is Lorne, and Hush. So is Gyda. Size matters in some aspects, but it isn’t a tell-all on how one presents as a fighter. Thuringwethil had been bested many sizes, though it has lessened since she’d become Heda, whether because of her power or other’s easier submission, she never is sure. “Is that you?”

She was interesting to watch. The slender coywolf male reviewed the lack of expression on her dark face for just a moment, half expecting her to nip him away from her borders and off to pester the leader of another pack. But she seemed contemplative of his presence and again at his request. Her sharp eyes mulled over his physical features with an unreadable visage. Gluskap was certain she was contemplating his condition and bearing. In spite of the lack of food, the thin male did not look ravaged off all his meat. 

After a moment or two the dark female returned with a response that was remarkably fitting for an alpha; a vague inquiry as to whether or not the coywolf was the right fit for her ranks. And he realized with a daunting burn in his gut, that he despised formalities and cliches. Still this inky female was merely doing her job. Protecting her flock from unwanted visitors and all that. 

Flicking the tip of his tail and drawing his ochre ears forward, Gluskap allowed for a faint smile to crease his slender face. "I believe in this instance your opinion is the only one that matters when it comes to questions of worth," he responded. Lifting his brows expectantly, his keen yellow eyes sought her face for just a fraction of a second. 

He shifts the opinion back to her even if it doesn’t give her anything to work with. He’s a survivor, at least; he’s relatively in one piece, a little worse for wear, but enough to survive the beginning of the famine and—potentially—be able to keep himself up should he step onto her grounds. They couldn’t afford another mouth to feed, if they were having to pull all the work for one wolf that is barely their own.

“In this instance, you’re the only one that knows your worth,” she reminds him, a slight quirk of a brow. “You’ve seen the devastation around, you’re in one piece,” she points out, as if and yet, you’re here, before she rolls the rest of her words off her tongue. They had mouths to feed, but they weren’t full. They still needed, especially with the losses as of late. “There may not be many, if any, plant-life left, yet,” Thuringwethil adds, and glances around in demonstration as if it weren’t already obvious, “do you know anything about healing?”

Oh, Gluska was quite aware of his worth. He was cunning, sharp of mind, and quick on his feet. He knew that he was mildly too self-serving at times, but he was also of use to those around him. His life experience had taught him a few things that were of worth. Still, if this dark woman did not like the person who stood before her, there was no use in boasting his skills. But the coywolf had a feeling that if she had not been interested in what he was there to offer, she would have already chased him from her borders. Instead, she brought up the lack of plant life in the Teekon Wilds and then proceeded to inquire if he was any good medically. A sly smile wormed its way onto his features and he nodded his head slowly.
 
“I do,” he responded in a pleasing tenor. “Enough to know that what the locusts took from the trees and brush is detrimental to the packs and the wolves in it. But I know enough about herbs from the sea.” That would mean quite a bit of traveling for the ochre-tinged male, but this was not something that perturbed him. It was opportunity to watch his ocean-bound family while still keeping his distance. It would prevent him from growing bored with his surroundings. Idle hands…

He speaks of the sea, and one ear twitches in curiosity. Perhaps he'd hailed from a similar location as she had, and knew the ways of he ocean, but she doesn't ask. He confirms his knowledge and she simply nods her head in consideration. It would be foolish to turn away a wolf that might be beneficial in some ways, and even more in the long run. Lucani is gone and there is no one that could replace her, but her loyalty had waned. She'd dedicated her life to Sleeping Dragon only to take it back. Bitterness rose in her thoughts but she did her best to cast them aside.

"What is your name?" she questions, shifting her weight as if she blocked some entrance into the back. Her snout moves to beckon him and her tail gives one appreciative wag before stilling over her spine. "We have lost our healer and if you're up for the job, you can stay," she says. If he knew enough about the sea and what it has to offer, if it's enough worth to make the trip, then his value would benefit. In the meantime, upon the regrow the of the land would be a matter of time. "I am Heda Thuringwethil and this is Sleeping Dragon."

If the pitch-colored woman had not accepted him into her ranks for his skillset, he would have found another pack that would. There was little concern to the coywolf when it had come to picking a home to plant himself. The Teekon wilds were enough to house him, and having Caiaphas nearby was an added comfort. The only thing he had left to worry about was Kalista. His inky sister – capable as she was – should have been beside him. At the very least, she should have sought refuge with the sirens. Glu was not certain where she had found herself.
 
“What is your name?”
 
The inquiry rattled him slightly, and Gluska’s ears twitched at the sound of the woman’s voice. Drawing his yellow gaze upwards to meet her face, his lips curled in a smile. “Gluskap,” he responded with a short nod. “And I would be happy to assist medically.” She then introduced herself as the Heda of the pack. Furrowing brows tightly on his skull, the ochre-tinged wolf did not respond to her preliminary acceptance words. Instead, he pondered the thought of a sleeping dragon.

Gluskap, he introduces, doesn’t have much to say other than the agreement they made. Thuringwethil doesn’t linger on it long, shifting her weight so she could move further into the territory. The invitation already there, she moves through the land to find the significant parts to show him. Specifically, where they meet, should the need arise. The agreement about the river is no longer, but the history of Sleeping Dragon is important. He would learn their foundation, eventually, and grow with them.

“Gyda is the one that leads beside me,” she says with a flick of her tail. Her current condition is not forgotten but she leaves the detail of weakness from her words. “And Magpie is my beta,” she adds, later filling him in on information he needs to succeed while showing him around.