Moonsong Glacier the tears that spill from her eyes

for @Cassandra. i feel like this is a weird post, lol.

while praimfaya had yearned for the earth to still and the rumblings of ire to cease the eerie silence that has befallen broken antler fen — absent the chirrup of crickets in the early dawn and late dusk, the croon of morning doves, the scuttle of foragers preparing their harvest for the frost months to come — leaves praimfaya with a icy unease. she settles ( stifles, rather ) this as best she can by border marking, scouring the wilderness for signs of straggling herds that have gotten caught behind in the mayhem of the earthquakes, by championing the recruitment efforts; for even if they are unsuccessful she shall rely upon word of mouth as a tool in her arsenal.

her trek to the glacier was a spontaneous one, giving the moonspear mountain range a wide berth and treading warily around neverwinter forest where the claim of wolves can be scented lingering on the towering pines. it is a mammoth remnant of what, perhaps, the teekon wilds had been once upon a time; and though the heat of the summer months have, she thinks, melted the topmost layers of the ice, ice still remains and she hugs the solid ground nearby, preferring it to the treacherous looking iceslick footpath. whatever view await her atop the glacier she shall leave for braver and more thrill-seeking wolves than she.

Eh, i always think my posts are weird in one way or another. :P

 
After having finally arrived at her destination, the stout female made her way almost immediately to somewhat higher ground. Having been born and living in an environment such as this, it was easier for her than most wolves to climb up the slick pathways. One wrong step would still prove to be fatal but Cassandra trusted in her experience and ability to traverse this kind of ground. Not long after, the arctic wolf found a place to rest for a while. Her big body sagged down, enjoying the cold seeping into her body from the place she was lying on. The she-wolf preferred the colder climate as her body was made for this. Her long and dense fur sometimes made her overheat so having the ice cool her body was really relaxing. The sun also shone today and it made her slightly drowsy to lay in its warm light, lower body cooled by the area and upper body warmed by the sun. Her eye closed, her head turned towards the sun to enjoy the light without being blinded.
 
Cassandra had actually noticed the catastrophic events taking place in this land. It made her unsure if she should stay but given the amount of wolves, it made her believe that this was not a usual occurrence. Thinking about it, it might have not been such a good idea to climb the glacier she was currently resting on. The earthquakes might make it break apart and she could fall to her death. Having experienced all kind of problems in her old homeland, it would do her good to get to less treacherous ground. And here she had enjoyed herself but no matter surviving was more important than her comfort. Icy eyes opening, she released a low sigh and stood up again. Her body continued her way back down again to the safer area of this glacier. On the way her ears swiveled sideways, having heard the ice creaking in regular steps. Someone was threading over it and it soon became clear what or who it was. A cub halfway to adulthood as far as Cassandra was able to tell.
 
It made her wonder, who would let a wolf as young as this casually walk around? If she would have done that during that age, she would have been eaten by predators or another pack for sure. To them she was just another food source and too young to actually defend herself. Maybe this land was not as dangerous as she was used too? Whatever the case, this area was dangerous as it is and being a cub was not helping. Even though she usually does not interfere in other’s peoples business, she did not want to be responsible for a little ones death, especially not with the tremors happening sometimes. Her big body slowly made the way towards the cub, large paws clearing the way in easy strides. “This is a dangerous place for a little one, why are you here alone?” she spoke in her deep voice, body turned in a way to not seem to scary. She knows that she is bigger than most other wolves, even in her homeland. It was an advantage but sometimes she scared or frightened others with her appearance. So she tried her best to not be as intimidating.

praimfaya's attention — previously focused upon finding the sound of waterflow as it cascades over rock and thru earth as she explores what she assumes is the safe part of the glacier — draws away at the sound of approaching footfalls. heavy but not so heavy as to leave her with the assumption that a predator stalks her. though she is rapidly growing into her medium height and slender, taunt warrior-esque build she stills shows signs of youth, evident in the yet unsharpened lines of her face and gait still gangly. soon though, in another month or so, she'll be near indistinguishable from the adults of roangeda.

her guard hairs bristle with caution even as her chin lifts imperiously, frostbound silver gaze taking in the pale woman that emerges from the bramble. praimfaya's steps halt and her gaze seeks her desired path in a quick assessment before it returns to the woman, assessing her in the studious way that praimfaya watched her mother do to others countless times. little? praimfaya wants to scoff, though compared to the bearborne woman she can understand how her slight frame and not yet to her full grown height might give way to that.

praimfaya's gaze lingers a bit longer upon the woman's scarflesh but only to wonder how they came about. scars, to her, are beautiful. ingram is covered in them and blodreina had her own fair share of them as well; whilst praimfaya remains unblemished from 'kill' marks. who says i'm alone? praimfaya challenges the assumption with a curl of her lips. eventually, she knows, she will have to start being more serious about replacing blodreina with a new setnes. for a while, ingram shadowed her — lest he does so now, staying out of sight, she thinks — but that was a matter for another day.

anyway — she says breezily letting out a puff of a breath. i don't plan on climbing the glacier if that's what concerns you. says the to-be wanheda.

I picked a cougar as predator, with the scarce prey I thought it might go after everything it could get its paws on and a lone wolf might make for good prey for a healthy cougar. There doesn’t have to be a fight or anything, just wanted to toss the possibility in. ;)

 
Her heavy steps stopped a good two body lengths away from the young one. Not to close but also not to far so they won’t have to scream to understand each other. As soon as the words have left her lips, she noted the other tensing and bristling. The others gaze trying to take her apart but Cassandra was used to these kind of looks and gave nothing away. Her eyes remained passive, almost void of life and her body not stiff but not overly relaxed either. A warriors stance in a sense, ready to strike but not appearing aggressive.
 
The young one had quite a spirit. Good, it will keep her alive in this world. the wraith thought, but hoping that the female would not get arrogant. Arrogance sometimes got you killed if you couldn’t back it up. Cassandra wasn’t one to underestimate others but having a cub moons her junior trying to challenge her made her almost laugh. Yet, when the other challenged her with the words –who says I am alone – made her eyes shift around the almost barren ice land around them to try and spot any guardian or pack member. As far as the bearish female was able to tell, there wasn’t anyone but that didn’t mean that they might be a little bit farther away and would come running. The she-wolf would be able to defend herself if need be but taking on a large group would prove to be hard to survive. A speculative gaze returned to the younger. “You know, if I were anyone else I could have easily eaten you. No one would have arrived in time if I would have decided to do that.” Cassandra casually said.
 
“Don’t try to pick a fight with me child.” the arctic wolf spoke to show she was not going take any shit and curled her own lips to show razor sharp teeth. The scars along her muzzle pulling themselves with the movement before settling into her standard blank look. “With the tremors it’s dangerous in this area. The ice cliffs could break and cause an avalanche or the floor could break beneath your paws, dropping you into ice cold water. Why ever you are here, you should not go alone.” she spoke before her words rang true and a tremor shook the ground beneath their feet. The ledge that Cassandra had been lying on earlier came crashing down quite a ways away from them. Thankfully it did not cause other ice blocks to follow and with a mighty crash the little event was already over. Just something that small could have killed Cassandra, not to mention the frailer girl before her. This was a bit of a safer area but if the tremors got any bigger this might also be a dangerous place to be. Cassandra was almost tempted to offer her help to the younger one, to help her cross the treacherous area but the she-wolf assumed, with what little knowledge she had about the other, that the young female would reply in a scathing way to her offer of help. “Climbing is not what I was worried about.” her voice took on a snarling tone when she smelled a different scent being carried on the wind. Another predator, maybe here to pick up a lone wolf and get its next meal.

i'm sorry about pri. idk why she's acting like this, lol.

praimfaya, spoiled perhaps in the way of being spoken to with the respect that her blood and future title of wanheda demands ( blodreina's fault, that ), does not take kindly to the woman's words which can easily be misconstrued as a threat. another imperious lift of praimfaya's chin accompanies the shrewd, unamused look she gives the older woman. she doesn't appreciate being spoken about as if she is small and so easily to dupe as a rabbit. frankly, she finds it a bit insulting. you could try, comes the worlida's cool yet simple reply. but whether you're right or not does not matter. roangeda would hunt you to the end of the earth to avenge me. she speaks this with an unwavering confidence. she knows that the stranger before her is unaware of her importance to roangeda but whether blodreina's will to make her daughter more important than she is or because the blood of the commanders is truly what her mother made it out to be ...praimfaya has seen it become reality nonetheless.

i'm not. praimfaya deadpans to the woman. she is not out here in search of a fight despite how their interaction thus far might come across. and my name is praimfaya, not child. how frustrating it was for her: to be wise beyond her years, partially at blodreina's own pushing and partially at the tragedy of her mother's gruesome death witnessed by her own eyes, caused by her own misfortune of being at the wrong place in the wrong time. no one could witness something such as that and pretend to be a carefree innocence of youth. whatever childish whims that had existed within praimfaya had withered and died in the moment her mother breathed her last.

i understand the dangers of this place, praimfaya snaps in a clipped tone. it is unlike her to be so short of temper with ...anyone, but being spoken to as if she's a sniveling whelp barely weaned from her mother grates at her nerves as does the assumption that she is not aware of what death this place could wrought. on that, praimfaya is painfully aware. i have a duty to roangeda, i have a duty to my mother's spirit, to explore the resources that greatbear has to offer and to find potential recruits where i can.

a breath is taken, an attempt for praimfaya to regain her control, unsure as to why her carefully crafted reign of control has even slipped in the first place when the scent of another — something not wolf — wafts their way upon cool air. the hairs at her nape prickle again and praimfaya lets out a low breath. then i'll leave. you're welcome to join me. or stay here and potentially become the other predator's meal. with the option on the table praimfaya begins to walk away, eager to put distance between herself and the prowling cougar before it caught their scents.

Totally okay, that's part of Cassandra's personality. :P

Cassandra was not new to war and conflict so being chased by a pack was maybe not as horrible as a thought to her as the young female thought it was. And even if that indeed where to happen, the wraith will go down fighting and most likely even kill others but no matter, her words had just been to rile up the younger, trying to make her see that not every wolf she meets will be kind and talk instead of attacking. However, the bearish female also knows that Praimfaya, that was the juveniles name, was maybe more of an adult than she should have been.  They did not know each other so they do not know the other’s past and what they have had to survive to get to this point. Maybe a dark event had befallen the younger and turned her older than she is.
 
That however does not change the fact that the young one isn’t even a full adult yet, not even having reached their own full strength. Currently Cassandra was the stronger of the two, this she thinks is obvious, but when Praimfaya gets older and starts collecting experience it might change but that was the future and were are in the here and now. And right now the younger was in danger of getting snatched up by a multitude of things. It seemed however, as if she really was here on a purpose instead of just juvenile curiosity. Cassandra could not really say what ‘Roangeda’ is but given the way the younger talked about it; it might be the name of her pack. A pack that sounded like it was either just being founded or was currently lacking in resources and pack members. So to Cassandra it meant that was currently not an enemy worth being scared of. Well, depending on the pack members that is. What did she think earlier? Arrogance could get you killed? Yeah, maybe the older female should start taking her own words to heart.
 
Having come to a decision she released a small huff at the youngers behavior and conceded that she would not antagonize Praimfaya again (at least not for now) and just gather some information. Who knows, maybe they had a lot of good fighters in Roangeda if the younger was being so sure of it and maybe Cassandra could get in some good willed fights with them to hone her skills more. It irked her that she got yet again in other’s peoples business but at least she might get something interesting out of it. So for now, she would behave herself so the little ‘princess’ would not take offense again. An almost unnoticed little smirk appeared on that thought.
 
That was for another time however, the scent of cougar got stronger. It was obviously near the area and might come over to look. Cassandra would love some excitement again but she preferred to not get unnecessary injuries right now. So with another small huff she followed after the younger female at a slow and even pace, not hurried at all by the predators scent. She wondered if that would annoy Praimfaya again; the arctic wolfs impassive façade to dangerous situations. It also did not leave Cassandras notice that the younger wolf didn’t even ask for her own name but she would not speak it for now. It would be fun if Praimfaya finally noticed that she did not even notice the name of her stalker.

Cassandra’s body, facial expression and scarce words often made her seem cold-hearted and uncaring but in general she liked riling other’s up, even if it leads to fights. Because that was she was born to be, a fighter. That’s what she has been living for, war and chaos. To her parents, she was nothing but a weapon and that mindset, being constantly drilled into her head since birth, had stayed with her. She was a weapon and if a weapon was not used and cared for, it would rust and ultimately break. Cassandra would not break; she would make sure of it.

the woman does not speak again and praimfaya does as she's said she was going to: she turns her back to the woman — she can practically hear blodreina telling her to never turn her back to anyone — and begins to put distance between the cougar's nearing scent and her body. despite her bravado, praimfaya has no interest in becoming anyone's lunch. blodreina did not die so that praimfaya could die weeks later. to her surprise, the unhurried footfalls of the older woman are heard and praimfaya's ears flutter back atop the crown of her skull for a moment before they cup forward, her attention more on ensuring she is not walking into the territory of another predator.

the silence ticks on for a while longer. if you're going to follow me, praimfaya breaks it loftily, peering over her shoulder. you could at least tell me about yourself. your name, for instance. though it was unclear why, exactly, this woman had accepted her invitation. were they to eventually part ways once they were clear of the cougar's range or ...was this a silent, albeit tentative inquisition to learn more of roangeda?

They were walking for a little while before anything else happened again. The path of ice they were threading on was slick but not so much so that they would be in danger of slipping. It seemed that for now the natural disaster that has been plaguing this land was quiet and allowed them some respite before the next wave hits. They were also walking farther away from the cliffs so that at least, if an avalanche should really happen, they would have enough time to run out of the danger area. Suddenly the quite got broken by Praimfaya’s words. Ah, apparently she finally noticed that she didn’t even know her name. Oh well, best not to snark back at her for now. She thinks the younger one deserved a simple answer to her question.
 
“I am Cassandra and not a threat to you and yours (for now at least she thought). That’s all you need to know about me currently. I am just interested if this so called ‘Roangeda’ is really as great as you make it out to be.” damn, she just couldn’t help it could she? But if Praimfaya thought she would puke out her life story she was seriously mistaking. Cassandra wasn’t even sure if she ever wanted to relieve it. The past was the past. It shaped her who she was but it is done and doesn’t need to be constantly remembered.

cassandra the woman introduces herself as, followed as it was quickly after the assurance that she was not a threat to praimfaya or her kru. i know you're not, praimfaya bites her tongue from speaking it aloud. she does not worry, the kru she has assembled thus far is strong ...and what was one wolf against many? the likelihood that anyone would survive that was slim to none. so you say, the worlida decides to humor the woman, though her tone implies that she does not doubt cassandra's words as true. there were few things that praimfaya feared: falling rocks, enclosed spaces — naturally, after what she has witnessed — but other wolves were not one. in this, she is truly her mother's daughter.

roangeda is strong, praimfaya speaks with insistence, peering over her shoulder at the woman before pushing forward, the prickle of her guardhairs lessening the more distance they put between themselves and the cougar. but you don't have to take my word for it. you can come and see for yourself. if you like what you see you can join my kru and if you don't ...no one will force you to stay. to be kru was to be family — if a wolf could not find ( at least ) camaraderie between them then roangeda did not need them. it was as simple as that.

The distance between the predator and their little duo increased and a whiff told her that it was apparently not following. Good, she might not have anything against a fight to get her blood pumping but avoiding needless injuries is always the better option. It would mean she can survive longer and fight more important battles. Cassandra might not be completely fearless but there is not a lot she fears, having a pack after her was not installing fear. She is a fighting and if push comes to shove, she will die a fighter. Currently, she does not fear death as she has nothing tethering her to the world of the living. But she was also not seeking death so she decides to not humor the other females strong believe in her pack. The pack that was currently nowhere to be seen. To Cassandra that meant, Praimfaya’s words were nothing more than air currently. Cassandra only believed in actions instead of words.
 
Her heavy steps continued onwards, following the smaller female. Their gazes locked again for a second and the younger yet again spoke like her pack was the world. To her it probably was but even a good pack can get crumbled and ripped apart. Cassandra saw enough events like this in her old home land. But as it currently was the pack seemed to going strong and might continue for a while. Praimfaya spoke of her seeing it for herself and maybe even joining if she liked what she sees but Cassandra only released a soft snort. “How many are in your pack? Any good fighters? I will check it out but I am not that much of a pack wolf.” have not really learned it; she added to herself as an afterthought. From travelers (if they were not eaten when food was scarce or driven off) she learned that a pack was something of a family to most and hers….definitely wasn’t. Sure, they were blood related in one way or another but to call them a ‘real family’ was way over the top. So being in a ‘normally functioning pack’ might be something Cassandra does not know how to do.
 
Here her gazes turned back towards the glaciers they were walking past, her eyes appearing almost soulless. Here she goes again, she always tells herself to forget but the past apparently had claws and keeps crawling back to haunt her. Maybe it would really be best to stay alone, that way she can’t be reminded of the past. Heh; wishful thinking.

this seems like a good place to wrap this up. last post for me & pri.

we are seven strong, praimfaya does a quick mental headcount of the wolves she has gathered to her cause thus far. it was quite an accomplishment, she thought. her mother, she hopes, would've been fiercely proud. we have several fighters. there is no lack of sparring partners. the worlida assures the older woman as they move, but a quick sigh draws the slowing of her steps until she has stopped, turning to face cassandra head on. all i'm suggesting is to check it out. talk to my wolves, if you want. nothing more, nothing less. no one will force your paw. praimfaya says, a bit exasperated. how many more ways was she going to have to say it? you can continue following me to roangeda or you can venture south to the fen when you get down that way. they are clear of the cougar and praimfaya is confident in her own abilities to find her way back home ( she found her way here after all ).

when she has the woman's answer ( and whether cassandra follows her or not ), praimfaya turns once more facing broken antler fen and continues making her way in that direction, not stopping until she crosses into the borders of her home.