Gilded Bay keep your proud head from falling

@Eden; set a day or two after meeting Deirdre

The shoreline was still half a mile off, interrupted by rolling hills. From where she stood, Muses was at an advantage, peering out from a high, grassy rise. She wandered closer, without urgency, taking her time to understand her settings. This was a very strange place indeed. The air was still uncomfortably thick, but the sharp breeze offered some reprieve. On it, she could taste the unique smell that lingered, from the strange waters of the ocean that Deirdre had described to her. She wanted to get a closer look, to see for herself, but the rolling waves frightened her. She had never had to swim through such violent waters. The lakes and rivers she knew were usually idyllic, and all sides of the shore were visible from wherever she was. The ocean was vast and impossible to understand or seemingly predict.

The world around her was a symphony of bird calls and insect noises. She found the sharp squawks to be irritating, but as she wandered away from the hill and towards the bay, she gradually became used to the cacophony, and learned how to ignore the bright flashes of orange hues that sparked in the corner of her vision like fireworks. The hilly, rocky shore seemed to be a popular place among the avian, but Muses like the little pools of water that she came across. They were shallow, but filled with life, full of strange creatures she had never seen in her life. Without taking a look back from whence she came, the young wolf began a new game of finding paths among the rockpools, trying to keep dry as best as she could. When her dainty paw slipped into a shallow puddle, she was quick to retrieve it, cautiously lifting it to her maw. She gave it a small sniff, peering around cautiously. When she was certain that she was completely alone, she stuck out her tongue, and licked the water from her paw. Ech! Muses recoiled in disgust, nearly falling backwards into the pool behind her. The taste of the water was overwhelming! It clung to her tongue in an awful way, for she had not anticipated that it would taste so salty. Shaking her paw apprehensively, she wondered how anything could live in such salty conditions.

Excuse me...excuse me! Eden called as she approached the source of her evening walk's disruption. Did people just not sleep anymore? Why was it that everyone chose this coast to scream about their issues. Eden rolled her eyes before continuing on, It's kinda late to be out here yelling, you know.
Though her hackles were raised ever so slightly -- if this wolf chose tonight to test the waters then Eden would be sure that her brood was protected -- she approached quietly and kept a fair amount of land between them. It's not like EJ would be getting sleep anytime soon, so a conversation might be in order.

A sharp voice nearly caused her to lose her footing once again. Muses scrambled along the slick rocks, trying her best not to fall, slip, tumble, or do anything else that would endanger her safety. "I'm sorry!" She yelped, and then more quietly, "I am sorry, I didn't realize I was yelling." Her ears pinned in apology, while her tail swayed cautiously as she attempted to maintain her balance, all four paws clinging to a single, large stone.

She eyed the pale wolf warily, equal parts ashamed, intruiged, and worried. Although the weather was warmer along the coast, it seemed, she had run into winter wolf after winter wolf. Perhaps their winters were extremely severe. Muses shuddered at the thought. The tone the stranger adopted reminded her of how the senior ranking females in her pack would admonish her for being so reckless from time to time. It was as comforting as it was alarming, but there was not enough familiarity in it to set her racing heart at ease.

"I just didn't expect the water here to taste so... salty." She finished awkwardly, trying to come up with an adequate excuse to defend herself. She had been told the water would make her sick if she drank from it, but, used to the sweet glacier runoffs in the mountains of her home, she could not fathom how any water clear as what was in the rock pools could be so thoroughly tainted.

Eden released an audible giggle at the woman's childlike response. You...oh love, you can't drink this. Though slightly frustrated by the she-wolf, Eden was humored by her humble apology. You do know that you can't drink salt water right? Not good for the body or the mind.
So you since you obviously aren't from here, what brings ya to the coast? She herself was from nowhere near these parts, but she'd taken the liberty of asking first which meant that for now, she owed no explanation.

A little embarrassed by the whole ordeal, Muses nodded, still clinging firmly to her rock. "Yes, I was told the water would make me sick," Suddenly she felt like a pup under her mother's stern gaze, being for something she had been told not to do. Ears pinned shyly, she rushed on, trying to explain what had posessed her to try and taste tainted water. "But there were little fish swimming in the water! How could anything live in poisoned water?" A nearly inaudible whine hummed in her throat.

It was obvious that she was unfamiliar with the area, but the pale wolf took no offense. "Well I've been trying to find other winter wolves, other wolves from the mountains, but I suppose I must have took a wrong turn somewhere." She chuckled, making light of her situation. "I thought it would be a good idea to find a place to stay before winter came. If it's anything like the winters back home, I don't think I'd survive on my own." It was a simple and honest explanation, but having already gone through the nitty gritties once this week, she didn't think she had it in her to do so a second time.

Eden released a curious oh? at the woman's...explanation. She might've said something on the topic had it not been for her next statement of needing a pack. Though only partially selfish in her mentioning of the Royal Fire Court -- three litters (one being hers) meant that they needed all the help they could get -- Eden decided to speak on behalf of her home, hoping to bring home a new recruit. Well, I don't know what exactly you were looking for, but there are plenty of packs in these parts. My own isn't too far from here and we are always welcome to new members.
Eden remembered the day that she'd been accepted into the pack; though pregnant, Alder still saw her potential. He'd allowed in her challenged sister and let out no complaints when she came to her untimely demise. Now, her blind cousin had been admitted -- Alder was a kind wolf and Eden was ever gracious to him. Truly, it made sense that someone would want to join their ranks for they were a family regardless of the faults of the individual.

Muses did her best to conceal her disappointment, expression neutral as she listened patiently to the white wolf's words. It was strange that the terms she used seem to be completely unknown. Muses wondered if perhaps they usually spoke another language. Most of them had a lilt distinguishable from her own, she noticed, but otherwise, they seemed to comprehend the same words for the most part.

"You would welcome a perfect stranger? Even one who yells at water?" She asked, her tone innocent but her grin wicked. She was only occasionally mischievous, but did not seem to be reserved when it came down to it. Chuckling gently, she shook her head. "Your offer is incredibly kind, miss," She trailed off briefly, realizing she did not have a name to put to the face. "But I accepted a home within Donnelaith just the other day. My name is Muses, I'm hail from the far north." The introduction was polite, but simultaneously earnest. It was never easy for her to disappoint, but she seemed to have no other choice.

"But you must live so close," Muses continued on, barely allowing for a moment's pause. "That we must surely be neighbours. Would you mind telling me about yourself and your pack?" Her request was offered with childlike innocence, as if she truly would find nothing more meaningful to her in that moment, other than to hear the ivory female divulge a bit about herself and her home. Her tail waved from side to side, and she relaxed her stance, seeming to become more confident upon the slippery rock. She dared not approach the other, lest she accidentally say something offensive, but she wanted terribly to learn as much as she could about the area, about the winter wolves from this new world.

She already had a pack, huh? Well, Eden knew that she wouldn't be sharing too much about the court in such a case. However to tell her own story would be based on her own persuasions and Muses seemed inviting enough. Eden. Pleased to meet you Muses. EJ grinned politely before taking a deep breath. She wouldn't tell her much, but there were a few things she had to get off of her chest.
Well I think the one thing that's most important in my life at the moment would be my family. My sister passed away a little while ago, around the same time I met my mate. My cousin's recently joined my pack, just in time to see me give birth. Only a couple o' weeks time at this point. Eden adjusted herself to better reveal the painfully swollen secrets hidden beneath a thin coat of fur. Her abdomen was much larger than it had been even a week ago, but she loves every bit of it.
And what brings you to these parts?

Her ears perked at the introduction, her tail beating happily for just a moment. Eden was a nice name, she thought. It seemed warm and welcoming, although perhaps that was only Muses' interpretation. It was heavily biased, although she would not realize until the woman later shifted her position. Until then, Muses remained polite, her face open for interpretation as it reflected sentiments of happiness, sorrow, and then wonder. "I am sorry to hear of your sister's passing." She could empathize, intimately understanding how it felt to lose a sibling. "I hope that her soul finds peace among the gods." The young wolf recited, although she meant every word. If there were gods and an afterlife, she hoped that it would be akin to paradise, and those that had passed on before her would find their eternal home there. Yet for all the terrible things that had happened in this world, she could not help but brighten up at the mention of little ones. Curious, she took a step closer, examining how Eden's body differed vastly from her own. "Does it hurt?" She asked, pointing her nose in the direction of Eden's abdomen, her voice full of concern and wonder. How beautiful a new mother looked; perfect in every way. She could not remember seeing any other pregnant wolves in her lifetime, and only vaguely remembered what her own mother looked like while she was but a whelp. "It must be wonderful to go through such an honour." The young wolf said with deep admiration. She assumed that all her chances had been dashed the moment she had fled her birth pack. Not that she had been a likely candidate to pick for breeding. There had been so many females and so few males. On top of that, she had been among the youngest within the family. Too young for her father, and likely too young for her eldest brother as well. Breaking from her reverie of remembering her family, her attention snapped back to Eden, and she offered a rueful shrug. "I could not stay in the place where I had been born, so I fled south, and eventually joined Donnelaith because I feared I would not survive the winter alone." If Eden was a new mother, than she had her own family to worry about. She needed not concern herself with trivial matters from Muses' daily life. Nonetheless, she appreciated having an ear to listen to her plight.

Eden smiled at the kind wishes but she chose not to speak on them. Her own beliefs told her that Alyssum was stuck in the state of death to never reach Notre Père's embrace, for she hadn't been properly buried, nor was her death recognized by a channel. It pained Eden to know that her sister was eternally damned, though there wasn't much she could do about it. Well, no, she replied to the inquiry about her swollen belly, but sometimes it gets in the way, which I don't mind. It is quite an honor, yes.
And why couldn't you stay in your home pack?

Carefully readjusting her stance, she took a look down at her own chest, but could see nothing hanging down as the other wolf's swollen teats did. Muses did not know why it made her sad for an instant, but she shook her head gently, and looked back up. "My littermates and I were the youngest in the family; I never got a chance to be around any little ones, though I always hoped I would." It was certainly a guarantee, for several of her older sisters were of age within the pack to breed finally. Or at least, they had been.

"Well," Looking down, she passed the claws on her front right paw over the algae upon the side of the rock. "There was a war, just as I had turned a year old. I was too afraid to stay." She was not proud of running away like a coward, but she had not been taught how to fight. She was a delicate creature with not a single malicious bone in her body - and perhaps one who lacked loyalty. Offering a rueful shrug, she continued on. "I'm not sure if anyone survived." Either way, there would be nothing for her to return to.

An unexpected wave of sympathy washed throughout Eden's bones. Had she not been aware of the dangers of strangers in these parts, she might have reached out to nose Muses's shoulder. I'm very sorry to hear that. I'm sure one day you'll be able to rebuild your family's name with little ones of your own. A soft smiled curled against Eden's cheeks as she thought about how that was exactly what she herself had done. The pups, no matter how much she'd come to love them, were nothing more than an act of retaliation. She would never tell Sylvas about her original intentions or motivations, but they would remained locked in both she and Aster's minds.
I was in a similar situation, as a matter of fact. My uncle and his mate came into my mother's domain. My brother and I barely escaped. I didn't even know that most of them had survived until the last month or so. In the back of her head replayed the sound of her mother's skull cracking against the stone walls of their holy lands but Eden was quick go shake away the thought.

Offering an ambiguous nod, the young female said nothing in response to having whelps of her own. A brief shadow of worry crossed her face as she considered how motherhood might not be an option for her. Donnelaith had no male ruler, and she had not been assigned a male by her father prior to leaving her birth pack. Sighing, she allowed the dark cloud of thought to pass quickly.

Eden had continued on with deep empathy, allowing Muses a brief glimpse into her own past life. She shuddered, saddened to know that there were others who had to endure such awful experiences. Yet there was something about her companion's tale that gave her hope. "They survived?" The words on her tongue tasted bittersweet. Would there be hope for her family? "Are they here now?" She could  feel her claws curve into rhe rock below, scraping at the layer of green algae that clung to its form. Would there be a chance that she could be reunited with her family as well?

Eden could see the angst in Muses's expression, and no matter how much she wanted to tell her that yes, they were alive and well with little families of their own, she wouldn't lie. I...no. I haven't seen my brother in over a year. The only family that survived the attack were those who imposed it.Emèlie. Lennox. Remy. They roamed these lands, yes, but Aster did as well. The only difference is that Aster had to wear the scars given to her by the prior. But they are here. I have to go soon -- the pups are getting a bit rowdy, Eden said after a powerful set of blows were delivered to her from within, so I need you to remember these names, and I need you to look out for them. Emèlie is the oldest. She has two sons, Remy and Lennox. I don't know where any of them are, but take care to avoid them, okay? Do not trust them, no matter what they say. Eden gave a nudge to the woman's shoulder and quickly turned to depart.