Sleeping Dragon tell me is that déjà vu?

AW! Who is up for a hunt? :D

 
When Freyja had last checked, the pack’s cache had approximately three rats, one badger, five rabbits, and the remains of a baby deer. Despite having all of this on hand, Freyja was still not satisfied with this. She felt that they needed more. She was organizing s this thought occurred to her and it caused her to step back from her work and frown. They could never live off of this amount if they needed to and she knew that she would need to work even harder at this.

With the numbers on her mid, Freyja pulled herself from organizing and mindlessly directed herself towards the river. Though she had personally mostly specialized on land dwelling creatures, the grey-haired child found herself meandering towards the river. Eventually she arrived, her eyes towards the water as she slowed herself upon the bank. She did not have much experience in fishing, but, she felt that it would be through practice that she could learn more about the water-bound prey.

It was as she pulled up to peek into the river that another creature caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Turning, Freyja was met with the sight of a strange looking bird. Her eyes rose and her fur pricked with uncertainty as she looked upon the strange creature. It was pure white with a golden beak and, honestly, Freyja had never seen anything like it before. It stood just a little shorter than she and had the longest neck she had ever seen!

Her instincts from within stirred and she smiled, crouching down. She knew that birds were tricky to catch-- but a big bird? Would it be easier? Or harder? She wasn’t sure. All she knew was that this thing before her was most likely a piece of prey that could feed at least two mouths. She needed this kill for herself and her packmates.

It was by chance that the muddied male stumbled upon the child in her stalk, for he had been out getting a lay of the land when his nose had unintentionally led him to the girl before him now. He watched from a distance as the bird caught her attention and as she pressed herself to the earthly floor he too drew alongside her, crouched down with his stomach just barley skimming the ground.

Hunting was not his forte, but perhaps if he was able to assist her in this endeavor he might prove more useful than what he had felt just a few moments ago. His eyes peeled from the bird for only a moment to catch the girl's reaction before returning to the chosen prey. He waited for her instructions, as this was her hunt to lead and he would do as commanded.

!! Thanks for joining! I've been meaning to reach out to you! Want to roll and see if they'll catch it or not? This will be drawn our for a few rounds, though!

It was as she was readying herself that the Kru pulled up alongside her. Momentarily, she froze and turned her attention to the muddied wolf. She was caught off for an instant as she thought it was Goliath, her heart racing and a deep from settling upon her features, but she then realized it was not the giant and instead a wolf that she had never met. He smelled of the pack-- that much she could tell from their brief encounter-- and she would save the formalities for after they brought down the prey before them.

The goose had caught sight of them and Freyja felt a kick of regret in this. She was hoping that this would be an easy hunt, but, by looking at the goose one could tell that it was not going to go down without a fight.

The bird let out a mighty howl and flapped its wings in the direction of the wolves, as if trying to fend them off. Freyja turned to the other wolf and beckoned her muzzle away from the river. “We need to drive it away from the water. I need you to distract it while I sneak from the opposite direction and while it’s preoccupied with you, I’ll come in for the kill.” She would not accept any other plan and instead she waited to the other to launch the attack, her ears flattening and a growl bubbling in her throat as she uttered her command, “Get it.” ​

ahh! went ahead and rolled here, they missed :(

His posture never changed, even as the bird began to yowl and throw a fit the male remained calm and composed, never wavering from his position. He listened as she gave him the instructions he seeked and once she finished he gave a quick nod before heading off to distract the creature as he was directed. He crept away keeping low to the ground before reeling upward to let the bird have full view of him. He kept his distance though as he did not wish to scare the creature into flight. Once off the ground chances of success were near impossible and Tanja had no intention of letting the bird go. 

The girl's command was heard loud and clear and not a second after she uttered the words did the male launch himself forward in his attack. Teeth snapped at the prey hoping to grasp any flesh he could, while a growl rumbled in his chest.

Dang! Oh well! Feel free to rp the goose in your reply!

 

Freyja watched on as the other broke away to sneak upon the goose, Freyja did the same, only heading in the opposite direction. Her gaze shifted rapidly from predator to prey as she moved to her position and soon enough she halted, hoping that they would be successful in their hunt.

Tanja quickly launched the attack and Freyja watched on, her entire body stiffening as she watched on. The creature’s immediate reaction was to flutter it’s wings in an attempt to dodge the attack and Freyja felt her teeth grit at this. “Frag em op!” she hissed in her native tongue, her ambitions taking over in that moment before she readied herself in case she needed to jump into the midst of it all to help bring it back to the ground.

The goose as expected was in no mood to die today, and Tanja was quick to snap at it's wings to try and bring it down. He had managed to grab hold of the bird for a split second before he realized he had simply got a mouthful of feathers and nothing more. The goose let out a cry as a few feathers were torn from it's flesh, but it wasted no time in flapping it's wings to rid itself of the pesky wolves that wished to eat. 

Tanja pulled back knowing there was no point and chasing it now as it flew to the sky and spit out the feathers he had managed to grab in the commotion. He let out a disappointed sigh, but for the most part wasn't that upset about not succeeding. There would be plenty more chances in the future, no point in getting all riled up over some goose. "You did well" he said to the girl once his mouth was free of all the feathers.

The hunt fell apart before her eyes. Watching on with her teeth clenched, she watched on as the goose slipped from the other’s reach and towards the sky. Allowing her anger to boil over, Freyja kept her eyes onto the piece of prey that flew off as the mystery of what exactly they had attempted to catch lived on and it mixed uneasily with the anger she felt.

She only looked to the other when she was complimented. Sighing, she turned to the other and pushed forward and offered a nod in recognition of his compliment. “You smell of my Heda’s pack, but I do not know you,” she commented, pausing before the muddied male and looked up to him curiously. She had many questions to ask of him, but she allowed this one to settle before bombarding him.

He turned to her when her question came and his ears swiveled forward with interest. It was only then did he realize she appeared to be the same age as Eske, and Tanja couldn't help but wonder if perhaps this was the child Heda was grooming to become Fleimkepa. 

"I served Heda back in her former home Seageda, and now I have come to serve her here." It sounded so simple but truly it meant much more to the man than want other's probably thought. "You are a sibling of Eske?" he asked, head tilted slightly to the side.

Tanja had caught her attention the moment he spoke of their Heda. She perked at the fact that he dropped and cupped her ears forward. So, this was a wolves that Thuringwethil had mentioned. “Monin,” she welcomed smoothly with a gentle wag of her tail.

When the matter of Eske rose, Freyja nodded. “Yes, she’s my sister. I am Freyja, current Feisripa and aspiring Fleimkepa,” her tone was full of pride, but, despite this, she did not speak of her further aspirations— they would only arise when the time was right.

“What is your name?” She asked the Kru, growing more and more invested with each passing moment.

It appeared by simply mentioning Heda the man was abl to soothe the girl's rigidness and his tail gave a friendly sway when she welcomed him. "Mochof" he replied and dipped his head to properly greet her. His ears immediately swiveled towards her when she mentioned already being a Feisripa and confirmed his thoughts of her being the young that would take on one of the most important roles in Drageda when she came of age.

"Heda mentioned you to me" he said with a smile, already feeling proud for the girl despite only meeting her a few minutes ago. Perhaps it was because he knew her father, or maybe it was simply her welcoming personality that made it so easy for the man to get along with her. "Tanja" he answered with a grin before adding "I was a Gona back in Seageda, like your father."

“Heda mentioned you to me.”

Though a sense of pride surged through her at this mention, the child had attempted to somehow keep such feelings below her collected surface. She offered Tanja a smile in appreciation of his kind words and simply listened as he continued to speak only to find herself all the more excited in the other’s presence.

“The position of Gona is quite admirable and we are lucky that you joined our ranks,” she replied with a wave of her tail as her interest grew. “But, if you don’t mind me asking, what brought you down here from Seageda?” After all, it was quite the trip that he had taken.

His grin widen when she said they were lucky to have him here, and the man was grateful for her kindness. It was her interest in Seageda though that caught his attention most. He assumed she would have heard about how Seageda was no more and how it had shifted to become Trigeda, but he asked just to make sure. "Have heard the story of how Seageda became Trigeda?"

He had no problem telling the story over again as he had done for so many in the past. In fact Tanja quite enjoyed reciting the story his former home, even if it was not necessarily a happy one.

It was at the mention of the tale of Trigeda’s formation that Freyja became very intrigued in the man’s words. Her eyes glittered with a sense of wonder and she shook her head quickly. “No, I haven’t.” Heda had just started with the basics of Drageda’s lore, but the two had not found them at this tale yet. She fell quiet, expecting the aspiring Gona to take it from there and give her the information she desired.

His head tilted upward when she revealed that she didn't know of the story, and the man wondered what they were teaching these kids if not the history of their people. He sat and used his muzzle to motion for her to do the same if she wished. "Before Drageda or even Trigeda, there was a place known as Seageda. The commander before Thuringwethil died in battle and soon after their death something known as the conclave began. Our Heda we now follow today was victorious and became our youngest commander yet." He paused to let her digest the information he had given her and left room for any questions she might have before beginning again.

"While many accepted Thur as our commander, there were those that had seeds of doubt sowed within them and began to corrupt the inner circle. Our leaders at the time sacrificed their lives to keep our secrets hidden from our enemies and it was then that our Heda left us to search for safer lands. Some of us felt abandoned, others felt anger, but despite our emotions the remainder of us pushed onward and soon joined up with what today is known as Trigeda." As his story came to a close, Tanja remembered that the girl's original question had actually been about why he had come down from Seageda in the first place. 

"To answer your question regarding why I left my home to come down here, well, the truth is it just didn't feel the same without Heda." It was a simple answer, but anyone that was strongly dedicated to their people would understand what it felt like to want be close to their leader.

Freyja followed Tanja’s command to sit, settling comfortably next to him and curled her tail neatly around her paws as he began his tail. Her attention did not waver from the wolf as he spoke of their Heda’s coming of power and she found herself all the more impressed with their leader as she digested the information. But, there was an aspect that she was hung up on-- the conclave. “The conclave?” she asked, curious to just what this meant.

The rest of the story followed and, seemingly, it occurred to Freyja had done what she had set out to do. Sleeping Dragon was a safe space, despite Goliath and his actions. “I could understand feeling abandoned,” she remarked thoughtfully, her head bobbing as she thought. She would feel abandoned, too. But, despite this, she reminded herself on what Heda had achieved. “She has found a safe place though,” despite her current fear of being torn apart by Goliath, her composure remained calm.

When he did give his answer in coming to Sleeping Dragon, Freyja nodded. “I understand and I feel like I would do the same.” She could not fathom being lead by an absent wolf and wondered how that worked out for the wolves. She couldn’t see it as that effective, personally.

It was always interesting to see what parts of the story appealed to different wolves and Freyja was no less interesting than all the other who Tanja had told the story to. "When an only child is born they are taken away and trained to become the next Heda. Then when the current commander dies those selected children gather for a battle to the death with the last one standing being crowned the new Heda." There were those who thought a fight to the death to be savage and then there were those who thought nothing of it. Tanja silently wondered what category the young Freyja would fall into. 

The man smiled when she said she understood and his grin only widened when she mentioned that Heda had found a safe place. "It seems she has." He could see now why Heda must be so fond of the young girl to have her being groomed to take a position of leadership. "I am sure you will make a great Fleimkepa one day. I can already tell that your loyalty runs deep." Trust was not something the man often gave away so easily, not even to children. Yet someone the girl had managed to gain his trust, and he wondered what other miracles she could possibly be capable of.

She listened to Tanja, making sure to catch every detail that she could. Her eyes brightened at the tale and she found herself admiring their Heda even more with the information. She already held the highest respect for the leader, but, with this information, Freyja was convinced that she was unstoppable. “It’s no wonder that she has carried our pack to such great heights.” she concluded, though the pun was not intended.

What Tanja said next brought a feeling of pride about her and to this, she found herself sitting a little taller. “Mochof,” she replied with a sizeable grin. She hoped that she would do for the pack as the Heda had done. She wanted nothing more than to do the best she could for the pack. “I look forward to what you will do as a Gona.” Her reply was fond and she wagged her tail. They were lucky that he had come to follow Thuringwethil in a more intimate sense. “I do hope that we will run into each other soon,” She offered, feeling as though their time together was coming to a close.

Tanja, despite his mixed feelings that he felt for Drageda at the moment, would always be sure of one thing. Whoever was chosen as Heda would have his unwavering loyalty even if they ended up burning the world as he knew it. He would always be a faithful follower of the Commander and Tanja had no doubt that Heda would continue to prosper here, even if it was not in a way he approved.

He gave a nod at her thanks and returned her smile with one of his own. "Until next time" he said with a final dip of his muzzle before departing and going his own way. She had been decent company and the man would not mind spending time with the young Feisripa in the future.

She smiled at the other's parting words and dipped her head in proper correspondence. She did hope that the two would cross paths again and she made a note to seek out the Kru if their paths did not cross naturally. Turning away from the place that they had been seated, the child started off back towards the densite. She was quite pleased with all the information that she had learned and hoped that he could continue to teach her more about Drageda.