Arrow Lake the caretaker

with one last sorrowful bay, stigmata finally put his active search for thorn to rest. the basilisk returned to arrow lake, somber and empty-pawed; devoid of any extreme emotion mostly out of sheer exhaustion. he had been more or less absent for several days while scouring a massive perimeter outside their claim - leaving scant traces of himself at the borders when he passed near enough - and his manic searching had only left the tracker tired, baffled, and bitter with remorse.

he wanted desperately to see his children, and ketzia's gaze came to mind when he thought of seeking comfort, but the general's slinking march was set towards @Mahler, and he was not likely to cease his pursuit on behalf of anyone else. they would simply have to join him.

his kill-brother had been gone for some time; mahler had buffed the traces of his scent where it could be found, but for the last handful of days, diaspora had been effectively governed by himself and takiyok. the dirge that rose above the silent trees roused mahler from a fitful sleep, and he did not pause to unfurl himself and move in its direction.
dour, subdued, stigmata stalked through the territory as if he were a slinking stone-cat, the sight of him at once both awesome and a relief. mahler did not chuff an affable greeting, nor pause to be recognized; he swung at once to the ironstar's side, matching his gait to that of stigmata in silence.

stigmata had grown so accustomed to the gargoyle's dutiful presence and his every meager nuance, that he could identify the male's approach by sound alone. he didn't need to look to know it was mahler there suddenly beside him, and he drew them to a stop before even turning to look at the strapping stone warden. he studied his solemn second for a beat, unable to admit out loud that he had failed their shared brother, but he conveyed it as best he could in silence.

as his gaze drifted down mahler's body, searching for anything out of place, the general's expression turned appreciative before eventually settling on a somber look of gratitude. mahler is well, and he is still here. "brother," he sighed, letting his posture fall dramatically. he is always here. "if you go missing, at least have the decency to take me with you."

giving his ruffled mane a shake, the ophidian wolf reclined to his haunches. "we must speak about the vale," he then said vaguely, staring pointedly at mahler's sleek face, as if to catch him provoked.

mirroring stigmata’s settlement, mahler let out his breath as a flurry of surprised blinking captured his eyelids. why he had ben caught off-guard he did not know, for of course they had not spoken regarding the vale since ruenna had taken her leave.
”i vould go novhere vithout you,” the gargoyle intoned gruffly, though the corner of his mouth quirked in a somber show of humour. it faded quickly; he glanced toward stigmata and steadied himself for their discourse.
”have you come to a decision, then?” mahler inquired gravely, for once not allowing his attention to falter, his mind to take him to more pleasant climes.

"you knew what my decision would be the moment you found out about them settling there," stigmata accused him, sardonic, frowning, and increasing in haughtiness. "but can i enforce it? hardly. and especially not when even my own kapitan would refuse to stand against them. so really what decision is there left for me to come to?" he couldn't put a stopper on the absinthe dripping from his mouth, but louder than the bitterness was his honest frustration. most of it stemming from the loss of thorn, but also because takiyok seemed to be the only one who understood this, and everyone else was just being too friendly... too forgiving.

and then, maybe their respective proclivity towards exclusiveness was what had caused the fall of the pionier's mountain, and what would doom this one to failure if they continued on the same path. he didn't believe in that, truly, but the tactician had to take it into consideration regardless. "forgive me," he said quietly. "i am tired from looking, and angry... but there will be no alliance," he said finally, heavily. sarcasms gone. "those wolves decided as much when they chose to settle in the vale even after discovering our intentions." it was the only thing he could control, as he now stood in the unique position of being unable to direct his own wolves to act hostile towards these outsiders because he knew they wouldn't believe in it.

"do you think we should we give up these mountains then, mahler?" he asked now. "keep to our prized lake and let the rest of it unto the others?"

mahler's gaze dimmed with self-disappointment as stigmata spoke — had he been so distant that his brother did not believe he had the support of his kill-brother? nevertheless, even as a great weariness began to settle over mahler, he listened, lips a dark line of silence.
the pale woman liri came to mind, and then the sweet face of ruenna, upon which he had not allowed himself to dwell for some time. could he flash his teeth upon them? tear them according to stigmata's edict? and then all at once the magnitude of where they stood crashed down upon the gargyole. was this not their land, for which they had fought and shed blood? where children grew up in the shadow of stone teeth?
mahler in this moment put aside his weakness; he bowed his head before affixing the general with a resolute look. "stigmata, if you vere to order an attack upon the vale tomorrow, i vould be at your side." a tearing within him, but he had no loyalty to those who had abandoned diaspora, no matter how fervently he might wish she might come back.
"this land is ours," mahler went on, sweeping the roundabout expanse with his cold lilac eyes, "as are the mountains, the trees, and their inhabitants." as he spoke, his confidence gathered, his pride in what they had wrought. "and within a year, new young varriors to join our cause."
he looked upon stigmata again. "i am sorry i have given you cause to doubt me. my ... delicacy of feeling toward ruenna softened me somevhat, but never enough to betray you, my brother, or diaspora."

as mahler spoke, stigmata tipped his head in a confused manner, and crinkled his brow to further accentuate the expression. he was frowning quite deeply by the end of his partner's apology, though it was a look of concern, and not one of a disgruntled leader. "my brother, i do not doubt what you would do," he said softly; certainly. "i know you are beside me, always. but what kind of hell would i be putting you through if i asked this of you? to attack the family of the very she-wolf you care for? please understand that i am much more interested in maintaining your spirit than i am in keeping a bit of valley. your feelings here matter as much as mine... i would never put such a burden on you, if i could help it."

he sighed, looking away towards the vale. "i shall return to recruiting when the moon is full again. i will not go far - i fear i am too attached to those damned pups - but we must bolster our ranks," he offered after a beat. "we will tread lightly with the vale for now, but not kindly. those settlers will not know peace in that valley as long as i rule diaspora."

mahler realized he had spoken with misplaced passion, but he would rather have said all such things than left them silent upon his tongue. it was also a matter of emotion for stigmata, then, something he himself had overlooked. and not for the first time did he send up a quiet thought of gratitude for his kill-brother, thankfulness that the general was not so selfish as to forge his own path without the input of his fellow leaders.
and yet he felt guilty all the same, as if his feelings had dashed by the wayside stigmata's vision for diaspora. it would have to be rectified, he decided, no matter what the ironstar said this day. mahler must not only make amends with him, but with his own self, his own heart, in this respect.
"i vill look after everything while you are away," mahler returned gruffly, though a smile lit in his eyes at the revelation of stigmata's attachment to the fine fat children he and takiyok had created. "and i vill keep a watch over the vale." so far it had been silent, but if there was the faintest murmurings there, mahler would know it, and would stifle it out before it had a chance to catch true volume.