Blackfoot Forest the primroses were over
all the world will be your enemy
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Private 
Set several hours after this thread here - @Indra they will be traveling into the blue springs cave internal territory :)
The crow’s enthusiasm seemed to have been amplified as they made their way into the depths of the forest. The glowing of his gaze darted this way and that in search of the markers he had made to lead them. He had done what he could to keep her busy, focused on their journey instead of the sister she had left behind. It worried him to imagine her fretting over what could not be helped. Tadec did not wish to see Indra waste away in the valley pack. He had seen her dedication to the claim and had not understood how she had not been acknowledged for it. The thief could only imagine that it was in the foolishness of wolves that she had not scaled the ranks within. They could not see what the fire-touched girl possessed in the shimmering gold of her gaze. Tadec was fortunate that he could.
 
“Almost there,” he urged her onward with a soft utterance. A smile twisted his dark features upward and caused his shimmering lantern gaze to twinkle fondly at the Redleaf girl. The entrance to the caves were not far from where they were. Overhead, the trees creaked and moaned against the wind that buffeted them. Tadec made a sharp turn and locked his sights on the entrance to his hideaway.
all the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand Enemies. 
and when they catch you, they will kill you. but first they must catch you; 
digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. 
be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.
i will pry his bony fingers free
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#2
they forged through briarwood and aspen thickets, traversing one behind the other - he leading, indra his dubious russet shadow. every now and then worry choked her, but she kept pace with the darting crow before her. laurel would be fine, she repeated to herself inwardly -- the pups would be okay -- she would be back soon, she would be back soon.

she slowed as they passed under tall palisades of grey oak and whittled yew -- suddenly, her charcoal companion turned sharply on his thin legs and indra faltered behind him. her gaze rose above his narrow spine, towards the dark mouth of a network of caves she had never seen before. "okay." she breathed, blinking solemnly as they drew closer.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
all the world will be your enemy
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#3
The crying of the foxes had waned and only broke the sound of dancing crickets every so often. Tadec tiptoed his way to the entrance of the cave, sniffing for sings that anyone else had found their way to the cavern. His own scent met him, and he breathed a soft sigh of relief that allowed his lanky frame to relax and soften in its rigidness. The thief turned back to Indra and motioned with his muzzle for her to follow. “Tight, small space,” he warned her. Then, his smile spread along his narrow features and he moved forward. “Will get bigger,” he then promised, hoping that it would not deter her too much from their excursion. The excitement could be felt in the air with a crisp poignancy. Once at the mouth, he stepped into the dark of the small opening and was thrust into a world of close quarters. The walls of the cave were so narrow and thin that he worried Indra might have a difficult time making it through. Moving slowly to afford her time, he stepped lightly and waited until he could hear her breathing before moving forward.
all the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand Enemies. 
and when they catch you, they will kill you. but first they must catch you; 
digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. 
be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.
i will pry his bony fingers free
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#4
indra was silent as they stepped under the over-reach of a cavern; this world was alien to her, and she looked to tadec for guidance. his flitting form seemed almost at home here, and she watched the way a liquidness came over him. he seemed far more relaxed than she and she tried to mimic his posture by sucking in a deep breath.

at the mention of close quarters, her gaze narrowed -- she transfixed his backside a stare as it bobbed and turned away, into a small opening she was scarcely sure she could fit through. tentatively, the redleaf clambered after him -- suddenly, she was swallowed in darkness and welcomed into some strange, subterranean realm.

already she could scent the change in air, the dampness -- the lack of circulation, the stagnancy. her breath bounded down the walls and she struggled to keep pace with him, all the while repeating to herself that this was not the end, it would get bigger soon.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
all the world will be your enemy
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#5
The dark coywolf’s shoulder brushed against a protruding rock just before he seemingly thrust himself into an opening that allowed for far more breathing room. The cavern was tall and wide, stretching out to allow for several bodies to fit within. The tightness had lifted from his frame, and he shook his body to free himself of the feeling of being strangled by the earth. With concern etched across his face, Tadec turned back to make sure that Indra was making her way through the passage without trouble. While the narrow tunnel was difficult to squeeze through, the reward was worth the trial required. The nimble thief offered an encouraging sway of his tail and waited patiently for her to find a comfortable way through. The sound of the spring and the crystal blue waters could be heard from behind him. A light breeze had found a way through the passages and brought the scent of the forest with it. All was quiet; there was a reverent peace in the dim light of the large chamber.
all the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand Enemies. 
and when they catch you, they will kill you. but first they must catch you; 
digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. 
be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.
i will pry his bony fingers free
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#6
indra clawed through the small tunnel, envious of tadec's slight form -- the going was definitively easier for him than she. ruefully, she wondered if she was just too fat -- a subtle smile twinged her lips as she grunted and extracted herself from the final lip of the tunnel.

they were in a cavern now -- indra looked around them, her eyes trailing the clod-covered ceiling. she thought they must be underground, but there was  a distinct movement of air here that could not be from the stagnant realm of a cave: she thought she scented firs, evergreen, the gentle trickle of fresh water.

curiously she looked to tadec, smiling in response to the concern worn on the crow's worried features.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
all the world will be your enemy
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#7
Their difficult trek had been well worth it. Before them was a spring that glittered with pale blue waters. Even the fair light that trickled through was enough to illuminate it in radiant ultramarine. While his worrisome expression had been latched to Indra, once the moonlighter had turned to face their prize, he felt a wave of relief that washed over his spindled limbs and toyed at the edges of his fire-touched coat. Even the silence that would have surrounded them from within the cavern was swept away by the soft crawl of azure waters. Their ambience seemed to have been carefully accented in a wash of tropical sea color.
 
Tadec turned back once more to catch the light against Indra’s features. He offered her a ghostly smile that toyed with the edges of his dark lips and he bowed his torso toward the earth with an excited jittering of his slender frame. It was glee that had filled him and cleaned him of his worries; sheer delight that she had followed him into his sacred and quiet grounds.
 
“What Indra think?” the thief inquired with a carefully searching stare. He quickly darted the embers of his gaze back to the waters and then to his companion with a thrumming that seemed to grow within his chest and fill him with intensity. “Tadec think this beautiful. Indra need a beautiful night,” he then whispered softly, almost as though he were speaking to the air beneath his chin. All at once, he was washed with a fearfulness that did not allow him to move from his spot. The slight halfling could only know the yearning of wanting her to find their surroundings as breathtaking as he had. He sought only her approval.  
all the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand Enemies. 
and when they catch you, they will kill you. but first they must catch you; 
digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. 
be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.
i will pry his bony fingers free
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#8
the redleaf's expression transferred from quiet curiosity to awe as the subterranean expanse revealed a hidden spring gurgling in soft blues. her gaze swept the moss rimed rocks, the tumble of water gently over smooth stone -- sequestered deeep within the hearth of immovable stone was a tranquil oasis brimming with life.

indra thought the scene beautiful and it caught her breath; she lingered in the mouth of the tunnel before she pulled alongside her slender counterpart. his fur, doused an incandescent blue, seemed to scintillate in the diffused blue glow, and indra only wanted to look at everything a moment longer. "it's beautiful." she parroted back to the crow, her breath hushed by the quiet rapture the concealed grove carried.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
all the world will be your enemy
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#9
Beautiful.
 
It was all that he had wanted. It was so labyrinthine – those feelings that he possessed for the woman touched by Frith – to wade through such vast fervor. Try as he might, the spindle-limbed crow was not truly capable of expressing all that was felt. Even still, he strived to demonstrate his devotion with care and precision, in ways that most would see as simple acts of kindness or warmth.
 
And perhaps he lacked the words.
 
Tadec was not part of their world. He tried with great intensity to be like them, and to live on the edge of what he had known all his life and what he was learning as he grew. He was a man birthed in the light of Inlé – touched by the tendrils of silvery fire that shone from heavens above – and she… she belonged to the fiery suns of Frith. One could not live without the other, he had realized over his time with her. For all of their differences, the dark and flighty crow saw so much in her. How difficult it was to express was a weight only for him to carry.
 
“Indra is beautiful.”
 
Bashful and soft, but still spoken with the same breathless candor as all the other words he had offered to the Redleaf wolf of fire. His devotion was barefaced and spilled from each beat of his weary little heart.
all the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand Enemies. 
and when they catch you, they will kill you. but first they must catch you; 
digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. 
be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.
i will pry his bony fingers free
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#10
indra drank in the sight hungrily, as if some blinded discipline with sight finally restored; wonder etched away the weary lines of her features -- soft awe replacing the cold shock of harsh ridges under each eye. she breathed deep of it; the incandescent motes that scattered around them, brightly fractured by prismatic light -- the rich verdant green moss that crept on each cave-stunted tree and carpeted in lush hues the tranquil cove -- and finally, the charcoal man that bent bashfully besides her.

her gaze trailed over his narrow features, resting briefly on his simmering bronze eyes. she drew a breath, the reverie the sequestered grove instilled in her slow to abate. yet it was she that suddenly grew bashful, timid; she had not been called that before, had never considered herself that before -- the tracings of her heart jostled and she pressed quietly: "do you mean that?"
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
all the world will be your enemy
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#11
The quiet words that she returned to him were met with deep bemusement. The crow canted his head to the right, then the left, and his brow knitted tightly over the embers of his eyes. Tadec was trying to understand what she could possibly have meant by her question. He was unsure how he could not have meant something so difficult to say; how could anyone speak that way and not believe in their hearts each syllable?
 
“Tadec does not know how… to not mean what Tadec says,” he answered her.
 
The question was likely a rhetorical one that had gone well over his head. Still, the crow wanted her to know that he was truly capable of lying. The spindly creature knew only how to speak with honesty. The differences in their languages were too much for him to feign a response. It took far too much time to craft what he wished to say, and to convey is accurately for Tadec to hide behind lies.
all the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand Enemies. 
and when they catch you, they will kill you. but first they must catch you; 
digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. 
be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.
i will pry his bony fingers free
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#12
she had not meant to trouble him; her instinctual wariness was perhaps unwarranted, but it was not entirely misplaced -- tadec had given her no reason to distrust or deconstruct his words, but the rest of the world had well-acquainted indra with malfeasance. she gave an apologetic smile, her lip curled with uncertainty as she watched the crow navigate the minefield of her sensitive disquiet.

he provided an answer, bald as ever. indra felt a sudden need to be close to him; his transparency was reassuring the way a strong arm was, and she was breathless as she stepped towards him to fill that gap. she didn't know what she was doing, but something compelled her all the same to feel validated alongside him -- gently, she pressed her body to his and rested her head alongside his thin shoulders.

***

later, the pair moved from the sunlit copse stride to stride; a change in both their steps and the closeness in which they walked. indra would never speak of what soft and gentle things transpired in that rock-studded cave, yet she would hold closely both the events and the man that had created them, for days to come -- and soon, something else in her would change in artifact of whatever deeds had been ministered that fateful afternoon.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.