Dragoncrest Cliffs i'm meaner than my demons

maybe someone eske hasn't met yet? :-)

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Mercenary. Gona. She had finally accomplished it. Finally earned her first trade and earned her promotion from Goufa. Though she’d always been apart of Drageda, though it was her as much as she was it — it was in her blood after all — it was the first time that Eske had felt like she’d earned it. It was not circumstance. Not as her birth had been. It was only now that she truly felt apart of the Drakru. That she truly felt like a Drakru. Though Eske scoffed at the idea of “fate” or anything similar she could not help but be amused by the irony that soon after she shed her mother’s surname and taken ‘Drakru’ that she had officially earned her place among them as more than just a child. She was Drakru and she had no desire to ever go any place else. Drageda was her home and she knew her loyalties would always lie with her Heda.

There’d still been no signs of Hvitserk or Freyja and Eske began to think the longer that time wound on, believing (even if she was wrong) that they knew where to find them, that they were not coming back. That they had turned their backs upon Drageda — just like she assumed that Thyri had. She didn’t know if her assumptions were correct or not and furthermore she found that she really didn’t care. She missed her siblings, missed the bond that had begun to form with Freyja she pushed thoughts of them away. They were capable of making decisions for themselves and she deigned not to worry about them any longer.

There was a distinct air of pride in Eske’s gait as she made her rounds on Drageda’s borders, sea blue-green gaze intense as she moved along them, swift and with purpose. She was a Gona now and she was in her element the very most on the borders or when she was sparring. Though under Wildfire’s skillful direction she was improving on her hunting skills as well. It was a slow albeit steady progress but she kept practicing her hunting and tracking skills though she heeded her mentor’s words of caution to avoid hunting anything big by herself.

For now, though, she was content to lose herself in the familiar motions of her patrol finding solace in the routine.

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She hasn't been home for long — home, if that's what this could even be called.
Thus far Seregryn doesn't notice anyone of importance. She doesn't know who is who to begin with, but there is no Gavriel, and strangely, no Gyda. That is a relief. On one hand, the fos goufa was set on throwing the outsider back to the wilderness where she belonged; on the other, not having to waste her energy was a blessing in itself.

Yet as the girl paced across the cliffside (trying to explore the bulk of the territory while the heda was otherwise occupied), she thought she saw a familiar figure. The stranger was young but they cut a silhouette which resembled the once-queen, the northerner that Seregryn had always been so adamantly opposed to. The stranger moved with pride, and as Seregryn followed she discovered that the edge of the territory loomed around her. She could smell Thuringwethil's marks plainly enough — along with others, but none more apparent than that of the girl Wildfire she had met so many days ago. Strange to think that she survived while Gyda had not.

Eventually Seregryn would find out the truth. Beyond what had transpired to pull Thuringwethil and her people away from the mountainside, Seregryn needed to know if Gyda was ever to return — but her questions were for another time.

The entity she followed seemed to be in a good mood. She moved with purpose, creeping along the border, hunting for strangers or for their next meal. Seregryn traced a route after them without much thought. Traversing the cliffside was easier than the mountain slopes, she thought. It would be easy enough for the fawn girl to adapt to life here by the sea.

thanks for joining! also i assumed that eske eventually noticed sere — let me know if you want me to change it & i gladly will. :-)

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Eske had settled well into Dragoncrest Cliffs, though it was vastly different than her birth territory. She missed the volcanic dragon but like much had become in her life over the course of the month it was a memory of the past. It was likely inhabitable and her home was with Drageda not the territory that they claimed. The sea brought with it a tangy contrast of smells, salty and heavy. Different than the scent of smoke and ash that she had been baptized in and raised around. A scent gave Eske pause and her steps ceased, her head bowing to the scent markers to investigate. She drew in the scent, satisfied that it reeked of fox and not another wolf. Though the rancid smell of the fox wandering around Drageda brought back a memory, one that she had looked back upon fondly and now it was twisted with a stab of bitterness. For a moment, Eske lingered, having recalled the time Freyja and her had chased a fox from Sleeping Dragon. It had been after they had begun to bond as sisters, as Eske had begun to mature and put aside her jealous rivalry with her silvern sister. Now …it didn’t much matter. Freyja was no where to be seen and Eske was left to assume that all of her siblings were deserters. Traitors.

Her attention was drawn, the pin prickle of eyes upon her back gave to the bristle of the warrior princess’ hackles. Her head snapped to the side to fix the fawn woman (girl?) in a sharp glare, the Gona’s upper lip curling back slightly. She did not know her, nor did she recognize her scent. She faintly smelled the newer Kru member, the ebony one that talked too much when dealing with trespassers (in Eske’s opinion), and of Heda. It is what keeps Eske from attacking, her muscles taunt but still. She is new, Eske is left to assume not knowing the other female’s past and connections. “Chon yu bilaik? Chomouda yu ste mafta ai?” Eske demanded of the stranger, unsure if the other spoke Trigedasleng, ready to translate in case she did not. Eske’d always considered it her native tongue and it was easy for her to slip into it even when she didn’t mean to. In this case, however, she meant to but was ready to resolve herself to translating should it be necessary.

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That's fine! Pre-emptive apology if her trigedasleng makes zero sense, I tried. :P

Seregryn did not know what she wanted out of this stranger. She saw too many similarities between the young one and Gyda for it to be coincidence; perhaps the woman had been bred by a warrior and given birth? Perhaps Thuringwethil had come to her senses and used the gray woman as a brood (a moment of charity Seregryn doubted her heda would show, even to a leader). Yet when she was finally spotted and the two of them were forced to interact, it was the sound of trigdasleng which curbs Seregryn's ego. It isn't much, but it is a start.

She turns her dark face to the girl and decides, then and there, she will not judge this wolf on the standards she has set for her mother. The parent of the child is unimportant in their culture anyways — Seregryn hardly remembers her own parents, although that is because as fos goufa, she was taken from them at the earliest convenience. Still, it is to Eske's benefit that the newly returned fos goufa lets these matters slip on by.

Seregryn. Chek au seingeda - ba em ste nou yu ai mafta op. Ai laik setnes, seim bilaik yu. It isn't often she gives her name away so freely. Then again, she has been living with Trigeda and re-learning their culture's ways; it is nice to have found a stranger near to her own age that she can trust. Someone that speaks the language, and is not an outsider. Whoever came before Eske doesn't matter to Seregryn — this girl before her is Drageda through-and-through.

i think your translation was fine? sometimes i have trouble getting eske's speech to translate correctly so i kind of...improvise or give up and have her speak "common tongue". :P

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Eske watched as the older girl looked to her, and she stared back unfazed and unafraid. The Gona was plenty skilled enough to handle her own in a fight, should it become necessary. She did not fear the thrill of the fight. In fact, there was a part of her that craved it. Fortunately, this did not seem like it was to become necessary. Eske's attention was drawn back in when a name was given to her. Seregryn, which took Eske by surprise only for a moment. To the Drakru, it meant that this newcomer understood Trigedasleng, thus the only plausible conclusion that Eske could draw was that the older girl, like Tanja, Heda and her father came from Seageda. As with Tanja, this was not enough to curb Eske’s weariness. From Seageda or not she was still a stranger. Eske took a moment to contemplate Seregryn's words of familiarity and assurance that she hadn't been following the Drakru. This brought with it a tiny bit of relief but still, Eske chose to remain weary. She did not recall Seregryn’s appearance, smell, or name and thus was left to her conclusion that they'd never met before. It occurred to her after a bit that she resembled Gavriel in her coat coloration and wondered if, perhaps Seregryn knew of him and that was why Eske was deemed as familiar.

Seregryn continued to speak, drawing back Eske’s attention from those thoughts, a stiff nod offered by the warrior princess when it was noted that she (Seregryn) had been patrolling. Just like Eske herself. “Ai op,” Eske replied after a moment. She didn’t apologize for assuming (or being wrong), seeking to brush her miscalculation under the rug with a simple rise and fall of her shoulders in a shrug. “Yo ste kom Seakru?” Eske inquired with a slight rise of her muzzle. She didn’t know for sure how many branches that Heda commanded and Seageda was the only one that she was aware of. Thus, she assumed that Seregryn hailed from them whether it was true or not. After a moment of further deliberation she silently invited Serergryn to join her patrol with a gesture of her muzzle, though she waited to see whether the older girl would agree and follow or remain where she was. “Du yo get ai nontu? Gavriel?” Eske inquired, unable (and perhaps in this unwilling) to stifle her curiosity.

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The name surprises her, for it is not that wolf which comes to Seregryn's mind when she looks upon this stranger. But the longer she stares and studies, the more she sees. Perhaps it is because of Gavriel's influence that Seregryn is less inclined to violence with this one; had she directly resembled her mother then there would be blood to shed. By mentioning that name, Eske has saved herself the stress of being on Seregryn's bad side — and thankfully, it meant Seregryn might actually make a friend. Or not, considering her personality.

She does nod though, slowly, thoughtfully. And when she finally speaks, she allows herself to slip from the language of her people to the language of the warrior. Gavriel was my protector. I have not noticed his scent in this place — has he gone? Perhaps he returned to Trigeda? Hopefully nothing has befallen him - but on the other hand, Seregryn's attention slips away from thoughts of the man, because in the end, he is not important. But this girl is.

I am fos goufa. I will one day inherit all that the heda has built. Except now it seemed less mighty, for they had been forced to give up the fortress that was the Sleeping Dragon for this foreign coast, and Seregryn does not know what to think about that. She presses forwards with a step, showing her curiosity of the gona with her posture and a few sniffs of the air, and inevitably continues her march, falling in alongside the gray girl as they patrolled.

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There was a furrow to Eske’s brow as Seregryn admitted that Gabriel had been her protector though it was not because Eske doubted her father’s abilities (for she did not) but simply because it was interesting to think that his sworn duty was to protect the girl before her. Did she have a sister she didn’t know about? Eske had never asked because she’d always assumed that she and her siblings were his first children as they were Gyda’s but now the Gona wished she would have asked, not that it would truly make much of a difference either way. “He and my mother left upon Heda’s orders to go to Seageda.” Eske responded simply with a lofty shrug of her shoulders. Their paths no longer crossed with her own and though she missed them both she did not begrudge them their fate(s).

Though Eske had never met one before she recognized what Fos Goufa was even without Seregryn’s offered explanation. For a moment she wondered if she should be impressed but as she pondered offered the older girl a sage nod of understanding. No matter how Eske felt about a stranger taking over for Heda, she understood that it was their way and that stranger or not Fos Goufa were trained to become Heda. Still, Eske didn’t like talking about someone else being Commander besides Thuringwethil. In an attempt to focus upon her patrol she kept her side of the conversation attentive but idle as they walked the borders.

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