Sleepy Fox Hollow the old me's dead and gone

@Siarut

Despite the newfound quiet that has settled over her, the healer awoke with an underlying itch. An urge takes hold of her to move, to escape the walls of the Vale - if only for the opportunity to clear her mind and think. 

With Nayethi looped around the pale column of her throat, the soon-to-be leader steals away from the stability of the founding clan. Nothing more than a spirit of the forest, the pale form darts in and out of vision should any be watching - pale coat shimmering snow-white under the dim green aura of the forest's shadows.

Her mind drifted as she travelled - the burn of replenished muscles tugging upon her bones and the tingle of a phantom limb that was no more went ignored - to the carefully constructed web threaded together only recently. 

A question echoed in her mind, one that had gone unanswered and unfaced. 

Was she doing the right thing?

The secluded sierra was not wholly foreign, it was here she had encountered Lace some weeks ago, but as ivory paws traipsed over shale and green cushion alike they were placed cautiously. The scent of another lingered and the fae was reluctant to engage in conflict currently. 

Whomever might have paused in their travels here appeared to have continued on - else they were simply not in her immediate vicinity. 

Whatever the case, the fellow rogue was displaced from her thoughts as they again circled back to the pressing Question. 

Leea rested her pale haunches against the ground with a soft sigh, thoughtful gaze drawn out to the lightening sky and its pastel strokes of periwinkle and pale rose. 

The religion followed by the Norse people of Vangard's birthplace would be her own in time. She had long ago stopped hearing the whispers of her own people's spirits; it was only fitting Liri should turn from the tribal ways and adopt a new observance. The north was far from here and there was no place for its beliefs in Teekon - not if she must move forward, into a new destiny. 

"Odin is the king of gods but not only in name," he had explained, the slow spread of his grin across his features distracting her for a moment. 

The skeletal remains of a grouse lay betwixt them atop the stone-turned-table, the clinging pieces of meat cold and greasy. Dried herbs lay scattered about it - an earlier attempt at imparting basic medical training upon the Bjorkborn - the remnants of hours spent talking late into the night. 

"He rules over those things which are considered the epitome of life itself: ecstasy, furor, courage. He is not a just or fair god; he is selective in his favors, reckless, and sometimes selfish." Liri could not help but think the Allfather seemed a bit lacking in greatness but it was as Vangard had said, he was King.

Kings were rarely just and fair.

Something about the god reminded the healer of Vangard. From what she had gleaned of his culture, the pagan seemed to be every bit of what was expected from a Viking: a courageous shamanic warrior, a jubiliant and joyful man, a wild creature who seemed to teem with life. 

Was it so wrong that she desired to emulate that? 

It was not only the man's ways that would become her own; the norse would cement his new status as Kvasir by siring children with the northron - a litter of Newbloods to be raised as Vikings, a pride to the heathen clan as well as their parents. In her lands, such a bond was sealed with political union though the giantsblood seemed adverse to mating with the lady of winter. Odd, given how readily he accepted to father her pups but perhaps in time..

Liri pushed thoughts of marriage and the future away - gaze lingering upon the heavens as she truly considered for the first time if she had chosen the correct path. 

A soft wind rasped though the trees, tangling in her arctic pelt, and the sylph's eyes closed as a sense of peace enveloped her being. 

Thank you for starting!

The wrath hadn’t escaped his gaze, as he lay hidden amongst the root of a tree. The very spot his family had once held a reunion and curled against one another. Reaffirming the bonds of family and siblings. That days had long since past, and only one of his sisters was easily accessible.

The frame that travelled against the greenery was similar in color to his sister, and he had almost mistaken it to be her. Dread had seeped into his bones at the thought of Takiyok searching for him and abandoning the father of her pups. He would have ruined yet another family.

Although as he gazed longer this woman was different, her steps seemed calmer, although she held a queenly grace. Which struck the man, the only woman he could compare her to happened to be his own mother. The regal way in which she travelled made her presence known to all. The entire forest paused to gaze upon her, as she meandered through.

She was speaking to herself, although Sia couldn’t here what she had to say. Such an action would normally have been considered odd, but he didn’t find it so. No he spoke to himself often. After everything that had happened, he could only rely on himself, and so he had become his own best friend. Speaking to himself came with the territory.

Venturing toward the woman, he remained at a distance. A wind came up from behind him headed toward the woman, his scent mingling with the warm air. He suddenly felt like an intruder, as she seemed to be searching for serenity. Taking a step back, he turned to leave.

The feeling passed. The wind settled. But she knew she had not conjured it; Vangard's pantheon had spoken. 

As her eyes opened, the healer's was aware of a renewed scent carried on the gentle curl of air - wilderness, mascunility, something cold and far removed. The serpent too shifted about the hollow of her throat, silver head lifting in his direction as if an accusatory index finger. A black tongue darted from the seam of her reptilian maw, flickering as Nayethi tasted the scent curiously. 

Leea's dark gaze found him - a pale shadow on the verge of blending, a haunting spirit of times lost to the past. A tingle of fear might have shuddered down her peppered spine, if not for the logical sense that argued he was mere mortal and not ethereal specter. 

"Heil, warrior," the pale lady would call softly - forestland orbs dancing over him briefly as a hesitant attempt at a kind smile was displayed in welcome. 

The healer's discreet glances - a trait honed by the tribal matrons - would reveal a brute of a man cloaked in white and eyes of summer though lacking in such life the season was renowned for. 

"Are you northern?" She would venture a guess, daring to rise and take a few steps closer as the native tongue flowed easily from her lips - given that he had not already fled.

As if omniscient the woman called to him before he could complete his departure. Turning slightly to gaze back at the phantom ghost, he caught her brown eyes. Noticing the slightly smile, Siarut tried to offer his own, although it only softened his gaze.

She took a step toward him after her query, and he reciprocated. Taking a few steps, they stood at an easy distance. Nodding his head, “Yes, I am.” It was easier to smile recognizing his native tongue in her speech. An easy grin fell on his lips, “It is nice to meet a fellow northerner. There aren’t many of us here.”

"Aye, we're a rare breed in these lands," the northron chuckled softly, head ducking slightly as a bemused smile graced her features. 

As her gaze returned to him, she could recognize some of Takiyok in his features. At this proximity it was impossible not to see that he was an Ateneq, though Liri had never quite met the northman who led her allies' tribe. The healer could begin to guess why he was not at his sister's side already, sensing the grief that plagued them both upon encounter and the distance placed betwixt them. 

It was not her place to pry thus Liri only introduced herself as, "I'm Liri." If he recognized her name then the healer would tactfully evade the topic of their fallen packs and failed alliance. 

Nodding with a small smile, “That we are.” He and his siblings had greatly increased the number of arctic wolves present in the Teekon when they first arrived. Although Sia couldn’t be sure just how many of his five siblings still remained in the Wilds. He only knew of Takiyok lingering.

“I am Siarut. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The former atausiq held no recollection at the name, having fallen ill before his sister could have revealed any potential tie between them.

Though she watched him curiously for a reaction, awaiting with half-bated breath, he gave none. His name only confirmed her suspicions regarding his identity but it seemed that Siarut did not know hers. Liri felt an invisible weight lift off her shoulders, unaware that it had ever been there, grateful that she wouldn't have to dredge up painful memories. 

"Likewise," she returned with a grin, tail swishing like a slow pendelum at her hocks. 

"What brings you out this way, if you don't mind me asking?" She questioned with a slight tilt of her head, ears fluttering hesitantly as she put the question forth.

It was refreshing to simply be in the presence of distant kin, the north had a way of binding people together. There was a darkness temporarily lifted from his shoulder as he relaxed, sitting slowly. “South or simply here in this…” Taking a look around, he spotted darkness surrounding the trees, “hollow?”

There were different avenues this conversation could go, it all depended on what her answer was. He understood it was rude to answer a question with another question, but surely this wasn’t the time.

Liri considered thoughtfully for a moment. Despite their alliance, Liri could not claim to be a close friend to any member of the Ateneq hoarde. She knew not why their family might have made such a migration but something dark settled over her as she considered the reasons why she had sought refuge in Teekon. 

Some questions were better left unanswered. 

"Here, in this place with me," she clarified with a soft laugh, the gentleness of it betraying her kind nature. It was abundantly clear that the wintry lady was not laughing at her company - which would have been most rude.