Kintla Flatlands look and see her eyes, they glow

Hydra ranged in a dangerous direction, independent of company this go around. With Lyra and Alya attending to their borders in her stead for her brief trip, Hydra headed toward a place where she might find another who could lend their teeth. If there was one thing she had learned in her experience with the bastard Screech, it was that he found a way. Even if her plans made all but guaranteed his death, he, in his lifetime of fleeing, knew all there was to know about making the keyword to her plan but rather than guaranteed death. Perhaps he had fled the Woods already. It mattered not. She had more than her own eyes, and the eyes of her sisters—and now, it was time that she made use of them. 

The Beta weaved throughout Panther Park, pausing in the territories center. She could smell mountain lion, here, and bristled... but as she investigated, she recognized none were near. Her howl might change things, but she did not plan to stay long—and she knew full well she would not be received by Liffey, if she recognized her voice, cowardly wretch that she was. 

Her voice grew stronger as she called to one wolf in particular who she knew would make the trip, who would always make the trip, when he heard her voice: @Terance. I am here.

terance had tracked down that god damn bear. it's scent lead him nowhere. it had rained in the days between the assault and today, and so the beast had escaped. whatever terance was trying to do to the damn thing, on his own, was besides the point. maybe he'd gather a party when he figured out where it went. maybe he just wanted to know where it lived, so he could shit on it's doorstep every day until he died. either way, terance found nothing, and so this trip was in vein. 

he was not at sunspire. he was south of it, but he heard hydra's call anyway. it was good timing-- or bad timing. terance wasn't sure he truthfully had the emotional capacity to handle a round of accusations spat at him by his ex-friend. but he would not be pitiful. he would not be weak. so he followed her call.

since the time before the last time they'd seen each other, when lyra had been with her, terance had been weakened by the famine. his frame was big, he was built this way, but his waist had synched in and he'd become smaller overall-- as hunger tended to do. but now, since seabreeze and olive and the children left, since their move to the hollow, even with the coming winter months, terance had gained back his weight. he looked normal again. bulky, muscular, fluffy. a freshly made scar perpendicular to his spine was along his hind-quarters. that might be all she'd notice. if anything.

he chuffed as he approached, coming from behind. his ears pressed forwards, his gaze hardened on her. he stopped a few meters back, chin raising slightly. he said nothing, but his eyes assessed her. what do you want?

Hydra heard movement, though could not ascertain from where. Her ears cupped forward, and then one cupped toward the right when she assessed that the potential threat was not in that direction. Hearing nothing from there, Hydra was quick to stealthily dart into the shadows the conifers and shrubs gathered there provided... 

And she watched, intent. Intent enough, it seemed, to nearly miss the presence of someone behind her; she whipped around, face warped into a mute snarl that meant the wolf that had approached would shortly meet their end. But it was Terance, she recognized, and Hydra's expression shifted into one of composed neutrality... first, though, to ensure there was no other threat— 

She turned on her heel, ears pricked when a lumbering bear broke into the small clearing, easily working through whatever was in its path. Hydra crouched, not keen on taking on such a beast , when it looked into their direction and she saw that this was no bear, but a wolf (@Ikkalrok). She had never seen a wolf with such a stature before; her father, who was large, did not seem to compare to this thickly-furred... thing. He was handsome—no, wait, she? Hideous, unsightly woman... but if the other recognized their presence, they did not acknowledge it all, and left the scene as quickly as they had entered it. 

Hydra looked back toward Terance, rising to her full height again, and explained: cougars seem to like this territory. I wasn't sure what that might have been... or you, actually, she admitted. Not his best move, approaching him from the back, but she had never considered Terance to be particularly bright. Well, she was not here to measure wits or even make him feel bad for his wrongdoings... for once, she had called to him, something she had yet to do since his departure. 

Titmouse is alive. He naturally runs with Blackfeather Woods now, apparently. He has stolen a packwolf, not of Moonspear... but I will give him no opportunities to take anything else, be it a life, or a captive. I intend to kill him, once I catch him, she informed, her voice steady, but I imagine he must know many want his head by now, and he will do what he must to not be found. If you find him before I do, she licks her chops, before continuing levelly: Would you kill him? And bring me his head, because she could not leave anything to chance any longer.

terance accepted the snarl without a flinch. he had, after all, approached her from behind. he looked past her as a stranger stomped by. his eyes studied her at first with anger, and then with nothing. it was not a bear, but a woman. terance held no further interest in her, especially as hydra turned to look up at him again, clearly having assessed the stranger as not a threat. her gave a gentle snort at her comment, almost amused, but not quite.

and then his brow furrowed as terance pieced together a handful of things. first of all, though his first instinct was to say i know, terance refrained. he promised hydra that if he'd ever heard news of titmouse that he would come find her, warn her. to tell her he knew, and that he hadn't come to find her would cause more tension. terance shifted through his words carefully. 

"i need to explain myself," he began, clearing his throat. his head bowed, and he took a deep inhale to steady himself, and then raised it again to look at hydra. he viewed her for a moment, and then informed her of the incident with the bear. of rannoch, and what had happened to him. his promotion, which sounded far too optimistic given the circumstance. and then he continued. "the captive resides in our forest, they arrived the day before the attack. wraen has left and our other scout was killed in the incident, fighting for rannoch," he told her, awaiting the assessment that hydra would make of his story. the underlying message was that he hadn't gone to her right away. he had not been her priority. but, surely, she must have known that rannoch had always been his priority. 

"but... yes. of course. if i ever see him, i will kill him," his head dipped gently, "and his head will be yours."

His first words were weighted, and Hydra nearly did not want to hold them. For him to explain himself meant he had made a mistake, and in this, there could only be one: he had known. But for how long? This was why she listened. She could not control the surprise that broke across her features as the best (surely worst, to him) of his news came, and at the end of his tale of woe, Hydra found herself reconsidering her reaction; life had never been kind to Terance, had it? It had never given him a single break. But that was what one got when one went down the wrong path, she mutely mused to herself. Chaos, and pain—even in what ought to be his greatest success, his rank of Alpha, there was turmoil. No celebrations or fanfare for the scarred runaway. 

She was silent, for a few moments, as she digested all of his information. Tegan's packmate was with Terance, now. Wait, forest? She paused, sniffing at the air, noting he did smell different... How is she? Will she be there for good? Her previous pack will want to know, she added. Hydra had a feeling he did not want to speak further on the Frostfur, and she was content to let that conversation rest for good. Truth be told, her only disappointment in the matter was that Liffey was not included in the list of those reported dead. 

And once he had said what she had wanted to hear, Hydra exhaled a heavy breath of relief that she had not even known she had been holding. For another moment she was quiet, and then she shook her head. You are alpha now, she spoke, gaze shifting toward him. You can change things, Terance. If Liffey no longer holds sway over the decisions you and yours make, foolish, nonsensical bitch, Moonspear... she made us the enemy... And there could only be one reason why this was (Hydra believed), and she had been wrong. Proven it, twice over. Her tongue struggled to find the words, which was strange, for as eloquent as she typically was... 

But if he changed the narrative, she was certain the stars might show him more kindness; for they favored her, and she was sure they would recognize his correction to the woman's besmirching of her families name...

and so she finished with: it need not be that way. You were never the enemy to us, even after you left, not in name... but we had our stories, too, that some among you... they were not ready for the truth, and so told their own false ones, she sighed a little, at that. She had been nothing but honest with him in the entirety of her life, so surely he would understand what he meant. 

Hydra had known since the moment Rannoch had left the false words spread about her; it was why he had left, after all. Not in content, but time left little to the imagination, and she imagined once they left, they felt fearless to speak what they never would have in her company. Perhaps not to Terance, if what he had said was true all that time ago (that he would not hear such things), but she did not doubt at all that words against she and hers were spoken. 

Oh, she could acknowledge she was a monster; but not the sort that harmed her subordinates, or was unjustly cruel to any who did not earn her ire or contempt. All those that had met her teeth had deserved it. 

Hydra wondered what he might make of it, her words, and watched him without guile.

"sunspire relocated-- it was why i came from behind. i was following the bears trail and just happened to hear your call," he explained, wondering what might had happened if he had not been looking for the bear. if hydra would have just gone home. would she have searched for him? he could not say. he doubted it, somehow, but somewhere deep in his heart-- a place he tried to suppress, knowing now that it only ever caused pain-- he would have liked to hope she would've. if it had been him, he would have searched for her. "we live southeast of there now. i lead lost creek hollow. phoenix is fine, she is weak but healing. i don't believe it is her intention to stay, she'll return to the plateau when she is stronger." 

terance had never seen hydra tongue-tied. it was true, she typically was so eloquent and well-spoken. as often as terance tripped over his own thoughts and feelings and words, hydra spoke clearly and fluently-- and she always knew how to communicate how she felt. what she meant. there was surprise that registered in terance's face, first in his brows, which knitted and unknitted once, and then in his jaw, which parted gently as she faltered over his words. he meant to say something, but just as terance always did, he struggled to put together a thought, and so they closed, and he merely watched as she started again.

she was wrong, in some aspect. terance truly believed that the pack belonged to rannoch. belonged to liffey, in that manner. of course, it was rannoch before all, and he and liffey had many a difference that caused him to place his own judgement before hers, at least. liffey had some sway, because she had sway on rannoch, who had sway on terance. but, in some manner, hydra was right. it need not be that way. 

terance was silent, his green gaze searching the face of the woman who had caused him a great deal of heartache. unlike with seabreeze, his hurt with hydra had been entirely his doing. there were underlying causes, he'd always feel his actions and feelings were valid, but his suffering had ultimately been his own. 

what was she asking him? terance could not decide. he wondered how far she meant to go by offering this. to clear their name? to be passive with one another? to be allied? and in what context-- was this forever? was this just to take down titmouse? and what did this mean for him and her? for terance and hydra? 

he couldn't help it. terance was so broken, so reluctant to trust again, to let anyone else in or back in. he'd hardened himself over the last few weeks. to be this way meant he would survive, because he could not continue on as he was. he was reluctant to believe what she was saying, but terance had never known hydra to lie to him. it was half their tension, she was brutally honest and he was brutally sensitive. and so she'd hurt him, and he'd held it against her. perhaps he'd matured out of trauma. it would seem that the walls he'd built had a window, that allowed him to see clearly. not on all things, because he'd still held dearly to him the suffering others had caused him, with contempt and confusion-- but for the first time in his life, terance understood why hydra had been so upset, so angry, so unwilling to forgive when he'd left.

afraid that this was wrong. that this would hurt him again, terance was reluctant to speak. he'd built this wall mere weeks ago. he'd promised himself he'd lock the door. but terance loved hydra, in a different way than he'd loved lyra and seabreeze. rannoch was his best friend, but hydra was his better half. as much as he wanted to shut down his feelings, as he'd done so well with, he couldn't help but feel hopeful. 

so, his chin raised and he spoke. "i hurt you," he began gently, "i hurt moonspear. i was selfish, and i left, and i left with a wolf who openly spoke ill about you and your families name. not to me, but you told me she did. and i left anyway." his crown dipped down slightly. "it was stupid, and selfish, and i should have had better judgement. but i didn't." though he wanted to make an excuse-- blame lyra, blame rannoch, blame his mental health, he didn't. he blamed himself. he'd spent his whole life blaming others openly, and himself in private. cursing himself and damning himself for all the horrid things he'd ever done. it was time he owned up to it. out loud, to the right wolves. terance could only hope it was the right time. and with a flick of his ears, terance said, "moonspear will not be known as an enemy by any wolf in the hollow. i will make sure of it." 

word by word, stone by stone, a small section of the wall tumbled. 

"and i'd like to ask your forgiveness, though i'm not sure i deserve it." 

She blinked at him as he mentioned following the trail of the bear. Why? Did he have a deathwish? Hydra hadn't the wherewithal to get into that, but she did not hide her judgment that she thought that was very dumb of him. But she hadn't the ability to ask him to not get himself killed anymore. He could do as he pleased, even if that was his ultimate goal, though this thought she did not like at all. He mentioned a name she did not recognize... Phoenix. Perhaps that was to hide from the Blackfeather wolves. But in case there were any ulterior motives, Hydra, conversationally, divulged: Oh—I had been told her name was Ceara, by a friend of hers that went looking, a thoughtful frown came upon her countenance then, before she said the thoughts that came to mind moments ago: It may be best to keep that information to yourself, unless you have need of it. She likely does not want to put you and yours into any trouble if Blackfeather finds where their captive fled to, and though it was fine to give others the benefit of the doubt, from time to time, Hydra had learned better. Still, having never met her, she could not offer her personal opinion on the woman who rose from her tragedy; Hydra only hoped she was willing to bite back. 

What Hydra did know was that she was a Redhawk, and her own track record with the pack had proven more often than not they were a decent lot. Hydra could only hope that Fire was among that number, and she was glad it was not up to her to find that out. 

She read each thought that passed within his mind in every line that was written upon his face, and erased, and rewritten, only to be crumpled up, discarded. Hydra could interpret every line, and now and then Hydra would press her ears forward when she thought he might say something she did not wish to hear as she understood it. With bated breath, Hydra waited, ears flattening atop her crown as she observed the shift, and when the epiphany struck both his tongue and his mind, the Ostrega was not certain she had heard him true—

He said of himself all of the things she ever said of him, but not with contempt or ire or sarcasm... he said it in earnest. He recognized the truth of all she had ever said, at last, and as each word came to pass, she seemed to soften, little by little. Even if she had not said the words to him, she was certain for him to bring mention of it at all meant that he did believe her—nevermind the fact that Sunspire had made an enemy of Moonspear, who had desired that, but for her?—and it lifted a significant weight off of her lungs that came out in a whoosh as he spoke on.

Enemies no more, then. He willfully erased the scribblings of a frightened girl. He changed her wrongdoings. She would not forget that he once willingly followed the wretch, even if it were due to Rannoch as he did the very same, but at long last, he was stepping in the right direction. And Liffey? Well, life had dealt her a worse card than Terance. But her actions? They were irredeemable. 

The thoughts of Hydra Ostrega came and went, her blue eyes tracing the length of Terance, noting his new scar; her tongue was absent of words for once, rendered speechless from all that he had finally said, up until at last she found words. A breathless, yet somehow firm and dignified Thank you, came first (for saying all of that. For removing the stain erroneously placed upon my name, my families name, for the head of that bastard if you should be the one to slay him...) and she fell quiet for another beat, considering all that had been said, when he spoke again. 

Her eyes looked to his own, as he asked her for forgiveness. Hydra, too, had her reservations. He, more than any other, had dealt her the greatest blow of her lifetime. Life, in turn, attacked Terance tenfold. She knew it would not get any better if he spoke these words in vain, and she found herself not saying no, not yet, not now, but: you will never hurt me in such a way again? For his biggest crime of all had been to follow the lead of Rannoch's wife, even if it was for Rannoch, and to condone being made a makeshift enemy at all, for reasons he knew could not exist in knowing her, knowing her sisters. They loved their pack, would do anything for their friends and fellows—Rannoch and Terance both had bore witness to it. Terance had Hydra to thank for Rannoch at all, as she thought of it—

She could not forgive him if he thought he might turn his cheek to her as he had that day. He had been the sole reason she had built her wall of stone, and though it was well made, one might see light breaking through the pieces that fell into disrepair; a consequence, surely, of his words. Hydra did not know if she ought to trust this, trust him... but forgiveness did not necessarily mean that, did it? It meant that she would permit him to work towards rebuilding such a thing... 

And so she listened.

terance nodded, taking and accepting her advice. "that was just what she'd told me," he returned, but understood the want to keep a real name hidden. terance would tuck away this information in case he should ever need it, but at her own request, the redhead would be known as phoenix to him and to all he spoke about her to.

and then silence struck the two. first with terance, who struggled to find the right words to say, and then with hydra, as she processed his apology and, she herself, struggled to find the right words. it was with pain that terance waited, unable to help feeling hopeful. his throat burned as he anticipated words he wanted to hear. forgiveness, maybe. hopeful that this was the beginning of a proper healing process. proper mending. i forgive you, he hoped to hear.

ultimately, she found a few words, which terance found to be appropriate-- though they were not the words he'd hoped for. his lips pressed together, not in a smile but in something opposite of a frown. it was a strange middle ground, that merely meant he accepted what she'd said, and the emotions he felt were mixed. 

"i will not," was as simple and straightforward as he could make his reply. he could not, he didn't think. he did not have it in him to do so. not anymore.

She listened attentively, and he said the words she needed to hear. 

It was not so simple as that, but it was a start. 

She wanted to trust him, but there was a part of her that revolted against the very idea of it. He has shown you how little your word, and you yourself, mean—trust that! Hydra was inclined to do that; there was far less risk, and the reward spoke for itself. Not being made a fool of, for one. Maintaining her pride. Making him feel like an imbecile, which he fully deserved, for making her feel that way long ago. He had drawn her trust in for all their time together, and crushed it. It dawned upon her that in this moment, she had drawn in his trust, his hope. 

He believed...? 

She saw that he did. In his half-frown, half-grin. Hydra had always been a radiant light, and it was no wonder that when things went bleak and dark in his otherwise mundane existence (a direct consequence of not being in her company) he was drawn to it, and hoped that her star might shine upon him again... 

Alright, she decided, surprising herself. Okay. I will try. But only you, she pressed, ears forward. Rannoch, dead or not dead, could find her in whatever realm he was in and beg to be released from purgatory; he might be a good man, but his transgressions against her were damning; he was a direct witness, and then some. Terance could begin to chisel away at the wall she had built; she would not, could not, bring it down herself. She was most unwilling. 

He had a lot of work to do. 

More importantly, though... if I were you, I would warn your children about a one-eyed man. Or perhaps your ex-wife, if she still has possession of them. He seems to enjoy taking advantage of naive wolves, he did, didn't he? Sweet Galaxy; a pregnant and nurturing leader; a once-friend, who probably thought: no, he really is good!... 

...Was that her, in this scenario? 

No. Not yet. He earned her forgiveness, a tough feat, but he had not earned her trust... a whole other battle.

he knew she was skeptical, and maybe even wary, he could see it in her solemn expression-- hear it in her voice, though she did not waver. only you. "only me," he repeated, unable to help the smile that replaced the tightlipped expression that had previous held it. it'd been a while since any real happiness had found it's way to his features, his once warm and precious smile had long been suppressed-- but today it shown through. he suppressed it a bit, as to not seem so obnoxiously joyous, but it was different than how he typically reserved emotions now. 

and then she mentioned seabreeze, ibis, and okeanos. his ears pressed forward at the comment, thinking over what she'd said. somehow he felt that his family was far from harms way-- but titmouse knew who seabreeze was. terance regarded the memory bitterly, harassment over his fondness towards the healer, especially in her heat-- as titmouse had tried hard to get past him. terance wondered if titmouse would harm seabreeze now to spite him. 

he prayed not. 

"i will," he replied with a gentle breath, his smile long having left his face as he thought over it, "i will visit them soon and warn them." there was other business he needed to share with his ex-wife, but perhaps this was more important-- since it directly regarded their safety. 

"and the bear," he added, directed now at hydra rather than him, "i was trying to figure out what direction it was headed-- if it lived nearby. the trails a dead end, but it was headed east, i believe." a warning for her, for moonspear, lest they be harassed by another bear. 

terance hated bears.

It was difficult not to smile in turn toward him, and a slight one seemed to tug at the corners of her lips as he agreed aloud. It had never been a thought she permitted before, but it came sometimes unbidden and was banished. Here and now, she let it stay, and heard it for once in its entirety: she had missed him. Terance had been her greatest of friends, once. To not believe that had been real was difficult, but she had accepted it long ago. His efforts for reparation had been real, and not without some effort on his own behalf, and she had to wonder about all she had come to think in regard to him—

Another day, another time. This was enough, for now. 

His warning was heard, and Hydra frowned. She, too, despised bears; she had felled the one that had stolen Galaxy. Robbed it of its last breath. If another threatened her family, she supposed she would seek to do the same thing; she wondered how it looked, if Rannoch had touched it at all before his head hit the ground. She doubted it. We will look out for it, she said with a nod. 

I should head back, she said after a beat, looking over her shoulder. But she soon shifted her attention back to him. I am glad you came, Hydra admitted, her voice not at all tentative as she spoke the truth, before she departed.