Lone Star Mountain She says that it's "a rat race, dog eat dog. Everyone's another cog."

tagging @Chey and @Vangard your OOC and profile just in case it doesn't go through again for some reason. :)

The Vale is easy to grow comfortable in. Though a few souls have wandered into their claim, she knows it will not be so when the territory is truly theirs. The high walls block out much of the sky but Liri feels no claustrophobia - only a blanket of safety within the curves of the bowl-shaped valley. It is tempting to remain inside the embrace of their newly chosen home yet the healer's paws have taken to wandering - searching for something she cannot name. 

Perhaps the idea of a permanent home has made the wintry fae restless, concern for the future mingling with a fear of losing the few dear ones she had left. Mayhaps she sought recruits for their tiny gathering or maybe it was something entirely unknown. The healer could not say for sure what guided her paws northeast that morning. 

Her back was to the star that the peak was named for - it winked dimly from its point in the lightening sky, a small white flame that would soon be extinguished as the sun's rays crept over the mountains. Pale light filtered dimly through the remaining shroud of fog, soft white plumes billowing about the fae's ankles as she trekked. 

The path would lead her around the edge of the summit, to the flat topping overlooking the Rising Sun Valley to the east. Lone Star Mountain was a a rocky place, devoid of life save for the faint evidence that pointed to the return of the bighorn sheep. The herds would have migrated to winter grazing lands but the return of warmth and the promise of new life would bring them back. 

The Blackfoot paused as she neared a stable stretch of shale, a wide point in the palf that allowed her a view of the Sunspire ranges spreading to the south. The thin atmosphere made her breath pull harshly into her lungs, an itch to cough tickling her throat. The remnants of white cough were fading but not quick enough, the healer thought as she swallowed heavily. 

In a few moments she had caught her breath, looking over the view with a peaceful gaze, pale plume curled neatly about her paws. 

The woman he had been conversing with previously had left and he had gazed at the stars alone. They twinkled at him in no specific pattern, pulsing in their entrancing way and lulling him to sleep. He had dreams filled with nameless wolves, groups of his kind that looked to him as a teacher, a leader. He was content in his slumber and perhaps this was why the woman who approached didn't notice his dark form stretched upon the ground. He had awoken, his keen ears hearing her intake of breath and his mind realising  it wasn't the wind. He didn't  move though, he knew it was a feminine presence and that if she meant him harm  she would have tried to do something  already. "It's a breathtaking view up here isn't it? Makes me feel closer to the Allfather" he remarked this in a voice still husky from sleep, finally lifting his head to turn and focus his two different colored eyes upon the woman. For a moment he thought her to be Odi keeping  watch over him but no, she was smaller.

She'd not been expecting company and with the shroud of morning mist to cloak his silvery coloring - the slumbering male had gone unnoticed. The soft rasp of her breath seems to have stirred him, a light sleeper if ever she met one. 

The fae might have startled, if not for the friendly conversation that strikes warmly against her auds. She twists, pale crown turning towards the source of the voice. Even with the coming of day, his grey scale form is hard to place at first glance - it seems the low, gravelly tones have emitted from the mountains themselves. 

Liri doesn't answer at first, falling silent as her dark eyes seek him out - landing upon the smoky silhouette of a stranger as he rises from amidst the rubble. 

He's easily the strangest looking wolf she's ever seen - grey patterns darkening along his chest, flowing upwards to cover his lower jaw and frame the curve of his lips. Despite the instinct to keep her eyes lowered, Liri can't help but stare at his optics. The left is an icy sapphire, the deep color of which she had seen only in the depths of glaciers to the north, and the right was a brilliant gold as if the color had been taken straight from a drop of the sun's rays. The healer can't help the curiosity that keeps her eyes wandering to him but the thought of her own oddity sends her dark gaze back to the view. 

"It is, " she agrees, seeming to remember then that he had phrased a question, woodland optics falling once more to the panorama on display. 

"I'm sorry, I must ask, who is the Allfather?" The healer inquired, brow furrowing in confusion at the unfamiliar title. It did not quite sound like the name of one of their own kind and she could only imagine that it was a leader of sorts to the male. The northern sylph attempted to phrase the question as politely as possible, for she didn't wish to offend her new company despite her thirst for knowledge.

He noticed the way she studied him, eyes roaming over the coal colored markings that covered half his chest, his throat and lower jaw. He didn't mind it, he reveled in his unique appearance and had never been called ugly to this date. His lips curved upwards faintly as she asked who the All father was and he took a slow breath in "The king of my gods. Odin. God of wisdom and knowledge" he started off with that little tidbit and then if she wanted to know more he would answer any questions she had. His gaze trailed over her figure and he spotted her missing leg, holding his gaze there for a moment before lifting them away to study her face with more interest. She didn't strike him as a particularly fierce woman but anyone with a brain could tell she was a fighter in spirit just from her leg, it took much to survive without all your limbs. He hadnt even seen many warriors capable of living a good life that way.

There is something calculating in the mismatched gaze that sweeps over her, as if the man is weighing or judging the assemblage of parts before him. A flush spreads over the healer's cheeks - hot beneath her ivory fur - as her eyes dart away, chagrined as she wonders silently if he has been left wanting by his appraisal. 

Her cocoa orbs are drawn towards him once more as the words strike her pricked auds, curiosity glimmering there beneath the carefully constructed mask. 

There are no gods in the bleak winterlands, only tales told in hushed tones of warning against stone walls as blizzards beat outside - stories of old lore passed on to shivering pups to ensure survival. There are only the spirits who watch and dictate from the nightlands, the inevitable journey beyond the horizons where no wolf can go. 

"There are no gods in my homelands, " Liri murmured softly, scuffing a paw lightly in the loose soil at her feet. "No kings."

"Only the shift of life and time."

"Would you tell me about your gods?" The fae asked after a moment, turning to face him in her excitement - forgetting for a moment that it might be taboo in his culture to impart such knowledge upon an outsider. Suddenly, such a notion seemed to occur to her. The northron's head ducked a tad, a wry grin crossing her features sheepishly. "If it is...permitted, " she searched for the right word, "for you to teach strangers that is?"

"I'm Liri," she introduced herself after a moment, realizing it had slipped her mind until that moment. "Liri Blackfoot."

It wasn't surprising to him when she said that she had lived without gods. Nowadays there weren't many who remembered the old ways, in fact it seemed that his old pack had been the only ones left who remembered and worshipped. It brought him great pride to know that him and Odi were the ones who were burdened with spreading the knowledge once more. "A godless life is truly lonely" he murmured just before she turned and asked him, very eagerly to teach her about his gods. He blinked, a bit taken aback. He had been expecting to have to try to earn her interest, this was much easier for him though so he went with it. He smiled and chuckled softly "It is permitted. Odin...he loves to be talked about. My gods are...not so humble but they are generous" he spoke with affectionate humor as if he was speaking about family.

He crossed his forelegs and turned toward the stars "Odin is the father and king of all the other gods. He is the god of war, death, wisdom, and magick. He knows all and create and end all. His wife is Frigg, the goddess of motherhood, marriage, and family. There are many, many gods and goddesses though the only ones that demand to be known are Odin, Frigg, Loki, Thor, Sif and Heimdall" he paused for a moment as he was filled with a strengthening energy. He smiled and closed his eyes, opening them once more after revelling in the feeling. "They hear us. The curiosity you feel, it is Odin calling you out. He is challenging you, asking if you think you are worthy to follow in this path" he turned to her and motioned to her missing leg "I believe you are" he said with a small smile.


"Our only tasks in following the gods are to worship and to live every day as if it could the last. We are asked to be strong and brave, ready to die at any moment. For death isn't to be feared, it means that we are finally welcomed into Odin's hall as his cherished guests. There are certain laws and ways of living we uphold. If you are interested in learning, in really devoting yourself to Odin I am trying to form a pack with my companion Odi" the offer hung in the air, she could join them if she so desired.

A hint of a smile tugged at her lips as he spoke of his gods. His words were warm, familial as if talking about beloved extended relations left in distant lands. There was no sign of the fear that plagued her natal tribe's superstitions. 

The fae's dark gaze followed his own to the stars - the cultural meaning of them forgotten on her as he spoke of what the heavens meant to his people. She felt something unnamed stir in her chest, a hunger to learn and understand. 

Magick. 

The word pricked her ears, drew her gaze to him involuntarily. There was magick in the northlands, Liri had basked in it beneath the dancing lights and cried chants to her ancestors under its influence. There was magick on the Plateau, but of a different kind, amongst those ancient trees that had seen so much. 

She nodded once. The healer knew magick; it was a relief to feel some kind of connection between the two worlds. 

Her optics flickered to his own, not a hostile look but a searching one. That ancient call she felt deep in the pine forests of the Plateau - had that been Odin all along?

She shifted slightly, gaze darting away when he gestured to her leg. "It was no courageous act that made me lose my limb, warrior." Her words were soft, expressionless. She didn't deserve his praise. 

"I would like to be brave and strong, " she murmured, almost to herself. A memory of the vow she had sworn to herself flashed through her head. 

Braver, stronger, better. 

Her gaze shot back to him at the offer, amazed that it would be that simple. The sylph had grown so used to being viewed as a burden, so accustomed to derision, that it seemed almost too good to be true. Hope flared in her chest, at the tempting prospect of immersing herself in his culture and finding the purpose she so sought. 

But reality stamped it out as quickly as it appeared. 

"It's not so simple, " she smiled apologetically as she shrugged slightly, regret flooding over her palate at the words. 

"I..led a pack on the other side of the mountains. It disbanded. I have others with me, we've already settled here in the mountains and we intend to build a home there. I cannot just abandon them, " she explained softly, hoping he would understand. 

A thought occurred to her then and she considered him curiously, introspective dark eyes lingering on him for several heartbeats. 

"Would you and Odi be interested in joining us? I don't know you very well but we haven't exactly a leader picked out..." She trailed off, knowing that the others looked to her for guidance though she had never officially taken up the helm. "Perhaps if everyone got along you might like it there, " the healer smiled shyly. 

He stayed silent throughout everything she said but he focused in on her, when she turned to look in his eyes he was already there. The strength within grew and he knew then he was channeling Odin. He saw the spark grow in her eyes, as if he had reached her soul through words. He knew then that she would answer Odin's call eventually, he was a part of her now. 

But then it was gone as she spoke of her leg seeming ashamed of it and he frowned, she had misunderstood. She quickly moved on to revealing she had a pack she was guiding already and then offered for him to join. He wanted to, he was intent upon teaching her what he felt she desperately craved but....he was prideful, stubborn. So sure was he that he was supposed to lead a new band of vikings that he couldn't imagine following. "Perhaps....if you can tell them what you learned tonight and ask if they are willing to learn, then i will come. I do want to be honest with you, I am meant to lead" he so yearned to be her tutor that he tried a compromise. 

Off in the distance he heard @Odi's call. He stood up slowly and then howled, a deep baritone of sound that caressed the skies. He would find her soon. Turning back to Liri he focused on her gaze "I will be here every night if you want to find me" he smiled and turned before remembering "The brave part was learning to live all over again, to hunt and fight and survive. You are brave and you are incredibly strong, Miss Blackfoot." with that he nodded and turned away running off.

"I can make no assumptions but I will see if there are others who would wish to learn," Liri vowed with a slight dip of her head. His next words caused her brow to furrow slightly. The northron did not know the norseman well enough to say whether or not it was true. 

"There are no Kings in this land either," she murmured, dark gaze studying him curiously. "If you are meant to lead, then prove it," the healer challenged gently, a smile gracing her features to let him know it was meant in good faith. "Earn their respect and I have no doubt you would be chosen to lead," the fae imparted truthfully, her gaze earnest and clear of pretense. 

A call rang out distantly, the unseen Odi perhaps, before Vangard could answer. Her ears pricked curiously as he promised to return in the coming nights. Liri nodded but some part of her determined to have him return to the Vale with her soon - if it was truly as he said and he intended to lead, he needed to meet her recruits. 

She thought he would depart then and she turned, not expecting a farewell. The pallid sylph paused in surprise - ears twitching to attention as his kind words reached her ears. 

Liri felt heat flash across her cheeks beneath her fur, her dark gaze dropping to the stony path, too shy to formulate a response before the male dissapeared into the night. 

The healer lingered a moment, collecting her thoughts, before turning west and following the path back in the direction of the Vale.