Bramblepoint be proud of your place in the cosmos, it is small and yet it is

Drageda wolves feel free to cameo for timeline purposes. I think i tagged everyone?

As much as Thuringwethil tried to rest while they were still in Drageda, she worries it is not enough. It is her third trip back to the caldera in such a short timeframe (and not to mention how sick she’d been before all this happened), that she wears a weary expression more often than not. The trip, as any other, is often made in silence. They few times they stop for a few hours to rest is the most she hears out of anyone, and even that isn’t very much.

They are close, at least.

At the northwestern edge of a thick foliage forest, she knows this is where they will camp their final night before they arrive at the caldera. She assigns @Dio and @Eske the first shift of guarding the resting wolves while @Furi and @Artaax scour nearby early in the night for something to eat if possible. While she doesn’t want them to waste too much energy before their arrival (knowing the Redhawks will help meet their needs), she doesn’t want them to strain themselves during travel. @Hvitserk is the only one without a specific job but she doesn’t quite know what to do with him and she suspects he’ll keep his head down for a while. She leaves @Hush with him for the time being. Before long, they’ll all be together and shifts will rotate until the morning.

In the meantime, Thuringwethil nudges @Blixen for attention and pulls her aside, stepping away from the small group and traveling further west. She knows they are close to Moonspear but she’s been in good graces with their leader (the one she knows), and hopes to find somewhere she thinks is close enough to elicit a howl.

With her daughter in tow, the reach the outskirts of the bramblewood where the alter is, and further up where the mountain that @Amekaze calls home. She lifts her nose, looses a howl to them in hopes they’ll hear and know they are back. War is on the horizon.

Instead of lingering around and waiting, given the hour, she turns back with Blixen at her side to return to their campsite.

blixen has been quieter than usual on this trip, not devoid of the brash spirit she brought last time but taken down to a simmer. war is something different, something she has not known yet but in story and understanding of her duty. she is excited to see mother but - worried, too, because she knows mother will be upset (but, she hopes once they can talk properly - once mother realises how grown she is now! - she'll understand why blix wanted - no, had to come). 

and furi's come too, which adds a new layer to the whole thing. she expected the other gona to remain in her stead. to, frankly, want to stay by rose's side. that furi chose to come along instead makes her feelings even more complicated - she's happy, of course, and she's glad to have her friend by her side (this is what she'd envisioned, sort of), but it also means having to confront the thing she's been delicately skirting around since rose arrived.

and by delicately skirting we mean staunchly refusing to acknowledge or deal with at all, especially now that they're on the mend. 

she's not sure if she's gonna sleep but she's thinking about it when nomi nudges her, and quietly the ginger falls into step at her side, ears perked curiously. she didn't come this way on their last trip to the caldera nor does she know for whom nomi calls, and she tilts her head as they start to head back. "who's there?"

The bird was making an effort to hide itself this day. The sudden movement had changed its plans, and now, it had a few important decisions to make. The Commander was out for blood, and while this was of great interest to the bird, it now wondered if she was the one that it sought after all.

If only it could speak to her face to face... but once first contact was made, their dynamic would change. Once the Commander knew she was being watched - really knew - everything would be different.

When they were left to settle down for the night it seemed as if everyone had been assigned a specific task—except for Hvitserk. Having not been told to assist any of the others, and not yet knowing who he could be near without creating a greater mess for himself, he left them be. At some point, he noticed Hush—also having not been given a job—and gave the older male a glance over, though he remained a fair distance away even still. Resting with a noticeable gap between himself and the others, he kept alert in case he should be needed, but was otherwise disconnected from the group.

“A wolf I crossed paths with twice, now,” she says. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t expected Amekaze to be there now. She doesn’t wait to find out, especially with their own not too far. “They have a problem with Blackfeather, too. I was letting her know we’re coming through.” Thuringwethil licks her lips, then sets her sights ahead of her. A courtesy call that she has half a pack outside their borders, as well as their presence arriving in the caldera soon. Whether or not they show to assist will remain to be seen less the woman shows up on her heels any second.

Should her daughter ask further questions, she answers, but she redirects them ultimately to lay out Blixen's purpose in the war.