Dragoncrest Cliffs I ___ you

There were evidently some caverns leading to a strip of beach below the cliffs, yet Wildfire could not bring herself to join the others in exploring these parts of their new territory. She kept to the uppermost regions, loitering in the forest and doing her best to get some caches started. So far, she'd only made two kills. She'd put the dead squirrel beneath a rocky cairn near the lake shore and she'd stuffed the rabbit into a shallow between a redwood's roots. The next kill she planned to stash somewhere near the cliffs themselves.

First, she would need to make it. Wildfire traipsed along beneath the towering trees, thinking idly of the fallen Hyperion tree and wishing there was one like it here in their new homeland. She should take Thuringwethil to see it sometime. Maybe it could be their new getaway. That thought put a tiny smile on her lips, the first to find its way onto her face in days.

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In the wake of what had happened Eske had more or less forgotten about the homework Wildfire had set for her. It was as she crossed the fire-kissed Bandrona's trail that it dawned on her. Her steps faltered and she let out a low grumble under her breath. For a long moment she hesitated, deliberating. Did she follow it and tell Wildfire that she hadn't completed what had been assigned to her? Or did she scramble to try to make up for time lost? Her parents departure, Thyri's betrayal, the erupting dragon ...homework seemed so insignificant in the face of what she had endured as of late. Perhaps it was no excuse, but in a rare show of humility Eske took a deep breath of the unfamiliar forest and it's tangy, salty air and followed the Bandrona's trail.

A low chuff of greeting left the agouti warrior princess as she caught sight of the Bandrona up ahead. In submission, Eske's tail lowered and her head ducked, wondering if Wildfire would be disappointed that she'd failed already when their lessons hadn't even really started.

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The smile vanished from her face at the noise behind her. Wildfire immediately swung around, amber eyes squinted, and felt an unexpected but happy jolt when she saw Eske trailing behind her. The Bandrona paused, then swept wordlessly to the girl. A foreleg swooped upward to dangle loosely over Eske's shoulder blades as Wildfire shamelessly hugged against the pup, the only one left of Gyda's and Gavriel's brood. Her eyes squeezed shut as she buried her nose in the side of the girl's neck, feeling a cocktail of gladness (to have Eske here) and grief (to have lost the others).

Aware that her embrace may not be expected or welcome, Wildfire sheepishly backed off after a moment, managing to regrow her earlier smile. "Eske," she said simply in way of greeting, overjoyed to see her here, intact. She didn't even think of their previous conversation or the aspiring huntress's homework assignment.

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Eske's steps faltered and ceased as Wildfire turned and the warrior princess watched the Bandrona wordless stride towards her. Her brow furrowed and she considered taking a step back, her ears slicking back to rest atop her skull. Would it not be for the fact that there was not a lick of aggression in Wildfire's posture Eske might have thought she was being attacked. The fire-kissed woman's foreleg dangled loose over her shoulders and the Bandrona was pressed up against her in a ...hug. The gesture was unexpected and foreign to Eske that she simply stood there dumbly, blinking over Wildfire's shoulder. And then, to Eske's surprise something broke within her. Her whiskers trembled and she let out a noise that sounded like a singular, soft sob. Touched by Wildfire's gesture of affection despite that they didn't know one another well. She felt like she had to maintain her “badass” reputation despite that her siblings were no longer around but beneath it she was still just a girl whose life had been so turned around (and upside down) that she wasn't sure what way she was even supposed to be facing. There was a softness in Eske's eyes as Wildfire pulled back and she had managed to collect herself (crying really wasn't her thing anyway). She only hoped that her mentor did not see her as weak for it.

“Wifi,” Eske returned the Bandrona's greeting, ready to pretend like she hadn't let actual emotion besides her usual attitude (gasp!) slide through the breach Wifi had made in the armor Eske kept her feelings behind. “I didn't get to really do any of the homework you set for me,” Eske admitted, though it stung at her pride. She had hoped to bring Wildfire grand tales of successes and failures but had at least hoped to have something. Instead she was empty pawed. “I'm sorry.” Eske didn't like to fail ...or lose, her competitive nature tended to make her a rather sore loser, as it were. “It will not happen again.” She promised. It wasn't Eske's fault, really, but she wasn't trying to use the chain of events that had come after she had approached Wildfire about mentoring her as an excuse either.

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Eske's apology was so unexpected—and absurd—that the Bandrona couldn't bite back the laugh that burst from her mouth. It rang incredulously in the air, though Wildfire stifled it quickly when she saw the earnestness on the youngster's face. Unaware of just how close Eske had come to losing it, now the Bandrona felt her emotions threatening to well over. How could the young woman possibly think Wildfire would care about any of that, after everything they'd been through? Hell, that entire conversation felt like it had taken place in a dream, now, or maybe even another life.

"I'd have to be ten shades of crazy to hold it against you," the yearling quipped softly, "and I'm only about five shades." She made a quiet chortling noise low in her throat, then shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Eske. Neither one of us could have anticipated..." The earthquake, the flight from their home, their missing family members. Her tongue suddenly felt thick in her mouth.

She took a moment to gather herself and breathe before saying, "I was actually working on getting some stockpiles started, though, and I could use your help. You know, this might actually be a much better location for the bird and fish parts of your assignment," she thought aloud as she began to move.

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Wildfire's laugh bounced around the forest and for a moment, unsure if she was being made fun of or not, Eske's ears laid back against her skull, her brow furrowed and a sharp retort ready to be released upon the air only to bite it back when the Bandrona stifled it. Guilt then slammed into Eske and she ducked her head, embarrassed by herself, when she realized that Wildfire hadn't been instigated anything but that her (eske's) apology had, apparently, been unwarranted. “Right,” Eske breathed, composing herself smoothly. In that action, there was Gyda's influence, though Eske was still learning to control her aggression and want to fight (everything and everyone, apparently). Eske was no diplomat, not a creature of eloquent and poetic words but had begun to understand that she could not communicate with the world solely by her teeth. Sometimes, the world required a finer touch. Normally, for this, Eske would be quick to defer to Freyja but as her silvern sister was missing in action Eske was forced to acknowledge that she had to fill both the roles: warrior and princess.

“I just didn't want you to think I was only using it as an excuse,” Eske explained, her salmon pink tongue sliding across her jowls once. It was probably the most legit excuse she would ever be given but it didn't feel right to hide behind it. In some capacity: she'd failed. She could have managed to bring some news of her attempts before the incident but she couldn't and that was her own fault. “I'd be happy to help you.” Eske offered the Bandrona, following after the flame-kissed woman though Wifi's words hadn't really been a question. Still, Eske offered the truth nevertheless. Wildfire wasn't so bad ...her closeness to Freyja aside (but then again, her silvern sister wasn't all that bad either).

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Sorry for the delay!

"Seriously," Wildfire said, her expression and voice still soft, the incredulity having faded from it, "don't worry about it." Her face brightened a little after that, though it was difficult to truly smile, given the circumstances. Her black tail waved to show the pleasure her facial muscles couldn't manage. It would be great to have a partner in this task and Eske could definitely benefit from the practice. Kill two birds with one stone, the Bandrona mused.

They plodded slowly through the woods as Wildfire considered the various types of prey. When she couldn't decide on where she wanted to start, she decided to pause and ask Eske, "What type of prey would you like to try today?"

It's alright! <3

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Wildfire was quick to assure Eske that she needn’t worry about it and after a long moment the warrior princess finally gave a curt nod of acceptance. Sea blue-green gaze swept the woodland before them, scanning for any signs of prey. Admittedly, she was looking a bit high for one’s run of the mill rabbits, searching for broken branches, tufts of fur caught in the spindly branches and hard bark. She doubted, however, that Wildfire would lead them to take down a deer just the two of them. Her eagerness to hunt ungulates was not one for her skill level, which to her chagrin was still quite low. Eske expected Wildfire to tell her what they were going to hunt and was genuinely surprised when the flame kissed Bandrona asked her, instead. Her thoughts on venison and prey that she knew she’d have to work her way up the skill ladder to accomplish still lingering on her mind the Drakru hesitated for a moment, contemplating. “Do you think you have the time and patience to teach me how to fish today?” Eske inquired, unsure if that was the kind of prey Wildfire was going for or not when she posed the question. It was no venison that was for sure but it was another skill that Eske could work on between her lessons with Wildfire and learn to hone. Besides, hunting rabbits and groundhogs was easy but also grew stagnant and thus utterly boring to Eske after a while (and she did not handle boring very well).

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Perhaps letting Eske pick wasn't the best decision, as the girl requested they try to catch some fish. Wildfire was terrible at fishing. Maybe she could give Eske some pointers and she would prove more capable, though? After a contemplative pause, she bobbed her head in a silent yes, then began moving again.

"Would you like to find a stream or some other freshwater source," Wildfire asked, already veering toward the cliffs just in case, "or do you want to try the ocean?" The environments would be vastly different and Wildfire was no expert at either. She just hoped that Eske would learn something today, even if they weren't terribly successful. Hadn't she herself said that failure was a big part of the process?

The girl appeared to consider her options for a moment, then chose a freshwater destination. "Lead the way," the Bandrona said, falling into step behind her student. The pair soon disappeared in the direction of one of the several streams that meandered across the territory's breadth.

2/2: @Eske, would you like to continue this? If not, I can edit a conclusion onto it. I wanted to ask in case it was a trade/specialty thread. :)

2/8: I'm gonna archive this!