Arrow Lake In her face, the mirror of your dreams.

it was the general himself that slithered down from his lakeside perch to greet a caller at diaspora's borders. he arrived in a smooth trot - for once, without slouching or appearing particularly moody. the three newest pups born to their ranks had put stigmata in an unusually buoyant mood, but it had also retracted his willingness to abscond from arrow lake on a recruiting venture. his task-list as a father had grown beyond his capabilities to fulfill them, as takiyok had "kindly" implied, and he knew (without needing to be told twice) that he needed to be here more than he needed to be anywhere else.

in short: he was glad to meet an inquiring stranger, as he could not go out and find them himself.

coming to stand tall and sharp before the shapely summer-agouti, stigmata pressed his ears forward and wagged his erect tail in a sign of good nature. this did not mean, however, that his present state of mind would make him any easier to appease. quite the opposite actually...

he opened his mouth to speak, but turned abruptly to look over his shoulder as the newly named @Ego emerged from the brush behind him. something about stigmata's face must have stilled him, though, because despite sniffing with interest in the direction of the stranger, the boy took a hesitant step backwards and came no closer to the scene. the warhound turned back to their guest, and resumed his thought: "you called, my lady?"