Stone Circle please god. be kind to me.

tags for reference ( no obligation to join! ). open for any easthollow wolves. <3

though moonspear has confirmed that easthollow was not the culprits behind vercingetorix's murder, praimfaya does not want to be the type of wanheda that simply takes the word of strangers alone. as far as she is concerned, she must follow up with this on her own. even if it is true that easthollow had nothing to do with it, she does not see how visiting them could hurt. if the rusalkan crone is so quick to toss them into the crosshairs of her rage and into the cusp of war then surely they know of her. at least, that is praimfaya's hope.

the fog of the morning burns with the warmth of the sun though the day remains, at best cloudy. nevertheless, the worlida sets off after informing @Aleks and @Dacio — whether she is joined by her faithful and most trusted companions or not — in the general direction of easthollow though whether she succeeds in reaching them is touch and go. she has never been there before but she knows of them. from the crone. from minnow whom she met very briefly. from where her path had crossed with the other girl so many moons ago now, praimfaya is able to gather a rough estimate of where she'd find them.

her steps slow, body language loosely cautious and largely neutral as she approaches the stone circle. it has been a long while since she crossed paths with minnow and admittedly, the specific scent is fuzzy ...but she hopes she's reached the right place. she comes to a halt a respectful distance from the borders, tips her head back and lets out a call for any of the wolves that might come to greet her.

nanowrimo: 288

Despite his reluctance to leave Roangeda's fen with the weight of so many uncertainties looming over them, Dacio was a wolf of his word. He'd made a promise to stand at the young Worlida's side on what he fully expected to be another trip that would provide them with no answers, regardless of his quiet contemplation on the matter. Vercingetorix, for whatever reason, had once been dear to Praimfaya. Dacio, however, could not think of him as fondly.

He was natrona, a decision he'd made that aided in Drageda's downfall, and one that Dacio could not find it in him to forgive. His frustration surrounding the entire thing often roused a desire in him to say no to Praimfaya's suggestion of a wild goose chase, to tell her that this traitor was undeserving of her loyalty. It was difficult to bite back, to remind himself of a vow he'd made to support her, yet he continued to stoically withstand.

He had to remind himself: this effort was not for Verx. It was for the aspiring Wanheda. It was for Dragomir and Isilmë, the children hunted by Blackhead - the latter of whom was missing.

Dacio and Praimfaya's arrival to the circle of stones where Easthollow made their home was a cautious one, and the sterling Klikalida kept watch as his young charge tilted her muzzle skyward to send forth a summoning call. His voice did not join hers, but instead he gazed on through the mist with charcoal ears alert atop his crown in search for the approach of strangers.

Ever since the deaths and disappearances began -- beginning with Indra, and piquing in the grisly end of Kiran -- Nanook took to the borders with fervent patrol. She knew the stress such loss put on the pack, and even more so on her sister. And Nanook worried for her. As if the strange shaking and tremors had not been enough. Something was happening in these Wilds, something wicked. Wolves, who now bathed their teeth in the blood of others. She recognized the darkness that had found its way through the heart of this feral land, and such was a darkness she would do her small part to stop.

Nanook came upon the duo shortly after their call went up. She first noticed their youth, and the way their bodies didn't quite fit the fully-filled form of a fully-grown wolf. They did not have many years behind them, that much was clear, and Nanook stored this aside as cursory information. A wolf could be young yet full of mind and wit, and warrior was willing to wager their maturity might show through, once the strangers opened their mouths to speak.

She drew to a pause when she came near enough, and looked from one to the other, head held high, and tail aloft; assertive, poised, yet non-threatening. She gave them her greeting and a permission to speak with the slightest tip of her nose, and her steady gaze moved with a mindful glance between them.

praimfaya knows that, for dacio he made it no secret his distaste for natrona, dacio doesn't entirely agree with this trip ...and yet he is by her side all the same. though her heart is fissured and cracked with the deaths of her parents just a month of each other she feels affection for her klikalida blossom beneath her breast all the same. her faith and trust in him was not misplaced, she knows. regardless, she does not make it entirely for verx. the ambassador in her knows this may prove beneficial for roangeda, anyway, even if they get no useful information though she hopes that easthollow might offer them something useful on the rusalkan crone.

it is not long after praimfaya's call rises through the air that they are greeted by a woman, lean and sharp, draped in a silvery, creamy gray and midnight pelage with fierce copper eyes. the commander-to-be dips her head in respect and feels her shoulders steeling in preparation to speak when the permission — a silent tip of the easthollow woman's nose is given.

hei, she begins, the trigedasleng flowing effortlessly from betwixt her lips as her customary greeting. during their quiet trip from the fen to stone circle, praimfaya had silently rehearsed what she might say. was there a good way to break the news that someone had thrown these wolves into the crosshairs of a likely to-be war? probably not. i am praimfaya kom roankru, worlida of roangeda and this is dacio, my klikalida. she introduces them both with full titles, gesturing to her stalwart companion, despite that she knows he dislikes her giving out too much information.

i have come to your borders to speak with you about news that i think you should be aware of, if you are not already. a few weeks ago, someone murdered one of my bloodkru and we came across a woman hunting for his daughter. ...i do not know her real name but my kilkalida calls her blackhead, praimfaya gives a small pause here. she has placed the blame of the murder on your heads. but praimfaya's body language speaks clear enough that she does not believe it. i was assured by the leader of a neighboring pack of mine that it was not one of yours that killed him.

giving the context feels long-winded but necessary. the last thing praimfaya wants is for this woman to mistaken her words as hostile or blaming. i am inclined to believe her. praimfaya adds softly. but i still hunt this woman, this crone of rusalka ...and my bloodkru's missing daughter, isi ...and i was hoping that you or yours might be able to help.

nanowrimo: 463

Through the fog came another, a smoky she-wolf who looked upon the Roangeda duo with her sharp gaze of a much warmer hue. Dacio swept his own pastel eyes over her posture, nothing her assertive stance as she paused a comfortable distance away. He twitched a whisker and flared his nostrils, breathing deep the scent of her to realise that it did not belong to those that more dominantly marked Easthollow territory.

Praimfaya wasted no time in sharing the reason as to why they'd come, and the sterling Klikalida's immediate thought was to interrupt. There was no point in her announcement to a subordinate, information that should be reserved for leaders to prevent an unnecessary repeat which was sure to be a waste of their time. He maintained his silence, however, not wishing to embarass his charge before a stranger. Besides, this was her mission, and he merely her guardian.

The younger one speaks, and Nanook shifts her gaze to settle single-mindedly on her. Despite the introductions, Nanook lends no breath to introduce herself. Not yet, at least -- these titles are long, and foreign, and from the way this girl carries herself, Nanook decides that they are here for something other than a request to join the ranks at Easthollow. Nanook tips her nose again in formal appraisal, and her ears remains piqued, as in short order, Praimfaya speaks again.

The news Praimfaya shares fails to stoke any kindling of good-will toward the characters in the story she relays. Quite the opposite. Nanook's brows flinch to a hard line, and her molten eyes smelt their copper with a new flame of fire. Hot air pushes from her nose, not at Praimfaya, nor Dacio, but at whatever heathens even dare to think to shove her family's name in the dirt.

Blackhead. Nanook's lips curl, and she nods, tight and reserved -- with a cool hum to cover the many words wanting to spill -- but she lets the snow-clad warrior finish.

When Praimfaya is finished, Nanook gives an understanding nod. "Blackhead, you say..." she wonders, for a moment, just how much to share, but she throws her caution out. These wolves stack themselves on Easthollow's side, and Nanook will trust them in this intent, "We had a wolf by that description come upon our borders earlier this season. We believe she came with the intent of killing my niece -- my sister's daughter. We had not provoked her, she simply attacked. I can assure you myself, that my family has had no part in the murder of your bloodkru. I wouldn't be surprised if that crone killed him herself."

But why shift the blame? What did this rogue have out for Easthollow? Or did wolves even need a reason these days? Nanook considered Indra, her bloody death. Merrit, and Clay, their disappearances. Had the crone anything to do with these?

"This blackhead yearns to put us at the centre of a war? How surprised she will be when she finds the Wilds after her head instead." A wry smile plays over the Apaata's face, tempered by the ferocity in her eyes. Oh, she wishes to lend her fangs and claws to help these strangers -- to find their missing child, and return some balance to this lopsided land -- but... "Unfortunately, I am unable to speak on my family's behalf. My sister, Valette, is Matriarch of our family here. She will be the one to decide what we, together, can offer to help. Are you rushed to return to your family at Roangeda? Knowing my sister, this decision may take some time to decide..." 

Or more, Nanook would make the decision take time to decide, if Valette ruled a verdict with too great of haste. She herself is ready to hunt and to fight, for Easthollow's sake. For young Isi's, and Leta's. For the sake of the Wild's themselves. She just... isn't sure if Valette is ready to take up her arms in this battle, or if her sister would rather stay tucked away in the quiet hamlet of Easthollow, privvy to the happenings of their quaint and quiet life, and blind to those who cry for help beyond them. Nanook wishes to have faith that her sister will stand with her in this -- but she finds herself uncertain, only in knowing the pacifist she has taken for a king...

as the woman speaks — when praimfaya finally gives her an edge to otherwise — that a woman of that description has been to their borders earlier in the season, the worlida's frostbound gaze goes to her klikalida, her relief that they have finally, perhaps, made some leeway evident. soon, praimfaya's gaze flickers back to the easthollow guardian, though, offering the woman her rapt attention, feeling the woman's words — that the crone seemed intent on killing her niece — twist in her heart like a rusted serrated knife. is that, then, what the crone intended to do with isi ...if she found her? it seems likely, if she has a history of it. which all spoken evidence thus far proves that to be the case.

i believe you. the young worlida assures the easthollow guardian. perhaps it is her youth, and that damaged heart of hers that is a little too trusting ...but there is an steely edge of ire simpering beneath the older woman's tone that threatens to build to a crescendo that leaves no room for doubt in praimfaya. and, as the guardian speaks of the wilds after the crone's head, praimfaya feels a knife's sharp grin tugging at the edges of her lips to mirror the woman's wry one. abruptly and without any preample the worlida decides that she likes the silvered warrior before her. it's almost a shame, she thinks, that she already has a home. would she not have, the temptation to attempt to recruit her to roangeda would've been too strong for praimfaya to ignore.

as it is, she resists now out of a sense of decorum. just as quickly as the hope blossoms beneath her breast, like the steady and resounding thrum of a wardrum she feels it fizzling out as the easthollower admits that the decision is not her's to make but her sister — a woman she names as valette — who reigns here and brings with it a question of whether they are in a rush with a following explanation that the decision may take some time to decide. how long would you consider not a rush? praimfaya inquires of the easthollow woman as she looks to dacio seeing an opportunity and wondering — with a heavy lean towards no — if he was going to approve of the idea she was already concocting in her mind. there is an opportunity here, dacio. for aid ...maybe for an alliance. she speaks to him in trig. if she thinks it will be longer than a few days i can stay as a diplomatic liaison ...but you should return to roankru so they have at least one of their leaders while i am away, if it comes to that.

more-so, if this was an embassy sort of potential stay she wants to do it. to prove herself, to be the voice of roangeda as she would be as wanheda. i am willing to stay ...at the very least nearby, as a diplomatic liaison, if needed. as an advocate and voice for my kru. it is not a decision i would want her to rush, after all. praimfaya readily offers.

nanowrimo: 544

The she-wolf's reaction to Praimfaya's mention of Blackhead was one he anticipated, and so his attention on her did not stray. He was far too curious to unearth what mystery reason she had for making attempt to piss on Easthollow's name, a hope within him that their own hatred for the coywolf might be enough to aid the justice he yearned for Drageda's downfall.

Fangs sheathed, Nanook went on to deliver some valuable information: the crone had been there only a short time ago, and made attempt on a young life. Dacio rumbled his disapproval, thinking back on what Caiaphas had told him of Vercingetorix accompanying her on this hushed mission. Could he be capable of such a crime?

A possibility, he supposed. After all, Dacio had never thought the former Cheka the type to betray their kru.

Still, the smoke-furred wolfess failed to mention any others that may have assisted Blackhead on this assassination attempt, so the rugged yearling maintained his silence on the matter.

His pastel gaze shifted only when his young ward spoke to him in their mother tongue, and he blinled down into her frposted featured with surprise. She wanted him to leave her there, with strangers? Dacio gritted his teeth at this absurd suggestion and he stared down at her for a time, unsure how to respond. 

"Are you sure about this?" Dacio grumbled, the tip of his tail flicking in uncertainty. Why the hell would this take so long, anyway? The crone had tried to murder one of their own, then add salt to the wound by attempting to turn the wilds against them. It demanded revenge, any any sane creature would seek such.

What a relief, that her words are enough! Praimfaya's inquiry is as expected. Nanook is quick to offer, "No longer than three days." And she pauses, and is about to add more, when the young warrior speaks to her companion in a language Nanook fails to understand. While others might have felt apprehensive at foreigners speaking a foreign tongue in the midst of negotiations, the sterling mercenary cannot help the smile that steals over her face. They remind her of home -- her other home, beyond Easthollow. And they reminder her of herself, and Siarut, for how often did they do the same?

She is patient, and allows their exchange, and decides, in this moment (as Praimfaya had before, to Nanook's own unknowing) that she likes these wolves. They are different, and she senses cohesion, and strength in them. Worthy, for sure, to fight alongside. Worthy, she believes, to seek out as allies.

Although she does not know what they have conspired, Nanook senses the uncertainty in the male's question. She has heard enough language before to feel his inflections, and she nods her head to address Praimfaya, and to reassure.

"Be assured that my aim is to have an answer for you before the evening falls, but you must understand... I do not believe my sister has ever had to make a decision with the weight of what this one carries." They had been faced with many hardships, but never the prospect of war. The truth is, Nanook does not know how her sister will respond. "But also rest assured that my own voice will advocate for yours. Now - let us meet with her. Alone or accompanied, it is up to you, if you wish me to stand on your behalf, or if you wish to come along with me, and present yourself to her now. Our territory is expansive, and since she had not yet heeded your first call, I am inclined to believe she is at some far off corner tracking the herds."

It was hard not to let a sorry smile pass her lips at that. Everyone knew there were no herds left to track, but her sister still refused to move these Stones behind.

sha; yes, she replies trig. she is sure, though as nanook speaks it seems her declaration as largely unnecessary. three days was acceptable time wise and would not cause for dacio to leave her if he did not wish to. three days is acceptable. praimfaya responds, whether it was required or not. we will accept whatever aid she is willing to offer us and we will not push for more. praimfaya murmurs in acknowledgement of what nanook says. the diplomat in her understands the weight ...but the warrior in her tells her to think with her head and not her heart.

i will accompany you, praimfaya decides. i feel that it is my duty to meet her, at the very least. i am the commander and no one speaks for me, but she does not speak that aloud, out of respect for nanook. she has been good company thus far and her willingness to lend her voice to their cause is greatly appreciated. praimfaya would not; does not! wish to diminish that. it is up to dacio whether he joins us or not. she looks then to her trusted klikalida, waiting for his decision.

She seemed insistent of her decision to remain for a time and, although his hesitation lingered, Dacio dipped his muzzle low in reluctant agreement. While Praimfaya was not Wanheda yet, he had vowed to follow her and now was not the time to reject her orders.

"I will see that this information reaches Moonspear," the ashen yearling shared, pastel eyes flitting between the duo as he considered how useless he would be in this situation. Dacio, bred solely to fill the position of warrior, was too hot-headed and impatient to play the role of diplomat - he was better suited back in Roangeda.

His focus turned to his young ward, softened on her pallid features as he prepared to take his leave. "Good luck," he told her with a fond smile, "we will come seeking blood here if you do not return within the week." A dark promise. Easthollow would fall if Roangeda's future commander did not return to them in one piece.

With a polite dip of his speckled snout, he bid his comrade and newest acquaintance a silent farewell before turning and heading back along the trail they'd come.