Broken Antler Fen Phoenix Flies

I know I've been bad with activity but hoping to keep Henwen active too <3

She moved towards the land where the kru resided. She'd moved too far away, got lost and was shaken deeply by the quakes in the Earth. But now, they seemed to have settled. Stopped even. Now, she could find her way back. And she did.

She'd made a promise to the late Mother to look after Praimfaya, and so far had failed. But surely, with the others joined who knew the young girl, they would keep her safe. It seemed her high hopes were right, for Praimfaya's scent was heavy of the borders of the fen, along with many others. 
She tipped her head and howled for @Praimfaya. She supposed that the one taking care of the pack, @Dacio, until she was of age would come too. She didn't mind. Her tail waved softly, waiting patiently.

A summons for Praimfaya was always enough to draw Dacio's attention, though he was particularly curious about this specific request. He'd heard much of Henwen from his young charge though was yet to cross paths with her, but he was familiar with the sound of her voice and her individual scent.

She had been absent for a time, and the ashen Klikalida approached with a dominant arch of his charcoal tail. A frown tugged the edges of his muzzle downward, quiet judgement in his pastel gaze as he looked the russet she-wolf over. Where had she gone? Why had she gone, and why did she come back?

the sound of henwen's call rising into the air is enough to pull praimfaya from her patrol — though restless pacing might be more accurate — and as her ears cup forth in an effort to discern the previously missing woman's location relief washes over her. in lieu of the rusalkan crone lingering in the shadows of praimfaya's thoughts and her impromptu journey to blodreina's grave in arrow lake after ingram did not return and it's revelation of the gruesome scene of her father's death — murder? she wonders — praimfaya has a fierce want to keep her kru close to her.

to hear that henwen is alive, even if praimfaya isn't sure why the woman has been gone for so long herself, is good news. the first good news the worlida has gotten in some time. she diverts her course quickly and notes that dacio is the first to arrive on the scene. this is not unusual and so she acknowledges him as she always does as she steps to his side to fix her frostbound gaze upon henwen.

henwen! her greeting is a bit breathless, twisting suddenly as she wishes that it was ingram's figure standing before her. she silently abolishes herself for such a thought ...henwen was a valued kru. what happened? praimfaya asks curiously, sure there was a good explanation for the woman's absence.

nanowrimo: 233

The charcoal-smudged male came forward and she stood her ground, ready for hostility because he didn't know her, or for greetings. She offered a smile, though, and her tail tucked slightly closer to show she wasn't a threat to him or Roangeda.
She opened her mouth to speak for herself when Parymfia came in a white blur, shouting her name. She grinned, tail wagging freely now. She was glad to see the youth doing very well for herself. 

She didn't miss the soft failure in her features, then realized Ingram's scent was absent.
"I was lost, following the herds too far. The quakes must have scared them away." Henwen wasn't the best at directions, but she tried.
"How are you?"

Dacio lifted his speckled crown, glad to see the russet wolfess submit herself accordingly. While his initial thought was that she'd abandoned the kru, experience of his own mother's disappearance in the past had taught him that arrogance was not always the reason behind an absence.

Her jaws parted, but before words could spill from her lips the young Worlida arrived on the scene. Dacio looked over a peppered shoulder to observe her approach, following her movements as she moved in closer to greet their newly-returned comrade with energetic warmth.

It was good to see her spirits raised, considering her most recent loss, and so Dacio made to exit the scene to allow the duo an opportunity to reunite without his salty ass to sour the mood.

praimfaya turns her head in dacio's direction, watching as her klikalida retreats from the scene. though she finds his wordless departure a little strange, she chalks it up to him finding that henwen isn't a threat. the older woman was the first and only recruit of blodreina and praimfaya — though some might call too young and naive — trusts her despite her disappearance. perhaps, in this, the worlida is too trusting but she is desperate not to lose any more of her kru. already, she has lost three bloodkru and one is missing in action. she is not sure she can stand losing anyone else — though she is bitterly aware that loss is inevitable.

praimfaya's attention returns back to henwen soon enough though as the woman begins to speak, affording her, her rapt attention. henwen speaks of getting lost after having followed the herds too far. understandable, praimfaya thinks, and the deduction of the earth trembles having spooked them away was the same that she, herself had came to. it would seem so, though some herds would've begun migrating on their own anyway. i am glad you are alright and that you've returned to us, the worlida welcomes back her kru with open arms.

as for how she's been ...well... that was far from a simple thing to answer. worried about what schemes the rusalkan crone was plotting, worried about isi — a worry made worse by her bloodkru's apparent disappearance from the safety of moonspear — her father's believed murder ...it was a lot; and to say that praimfaya did not feel the weight of warring worry and grief would be a lie. she is very good at keeping a brave face, telling herself that 'the dead are gone and the living are hungry' ...but practicing it when she was alone was a different matter entirely.

my father has been murdered, ironically, at my mother's grave. the image of finding his body: blood soaked, innards spilled out on the stone blackened by his lifeblood, his muzzle inclined towards her mother's bonebare one still haunts her. i am ...doing the best that i can. by 'best' she means throwing herself into her lessons and the search for isi and the hunting of the rusalkan crone by avoiding actually dealing with her grief — just as she had before. was it healthy? probably not ...but it is how praimfaya chooses to cope with the two fissures in her heart that her parents had left behind.

nanowrimo: 429

She nodded to Dacio, a soft smile. She was welcome, it seemed. Not a threat, but it was down to Praimfaya to decide. She then nodded to the Worlida in appreciation of her return. "Of course I'd return." 
There was a pause where she thought. A moment before the blow. Ingram murdered? Do they have enemies? Henwen was rather behind of the current pack politics. She diped he rhead in respect of the fallen, "I'm sorry to hear. But if you wish I can go and search for his murderer, once I have familiarised myself with the residing pack. It has grown since I've been absent." An offer that could mean a lot for her. They managed to form without her, Henwen leaving for a hunt for answers wouldn't be too amiss, apart from her integrating herself with the pack. 

She looked at the youth. She had a pack. She had made them, with help of course, and surely some of them would be friends and people she felt she could confide in. Henwen wasn't very good a helping with emotions anyway. All she could do was lend an ear and perhaps give a comment, but she wasn't good at advising.

as much as praimfaya appreciates the offer ...immediately, she thinks that she does not wish to send her kru out to investigate. not with the rusalkan crone still at large — and partially because she was selfish. if anyone should bring ingram's murderer to justice it should be her. in this, she wars with herself, taking her time before responding. to be selfish ...or not to be. a third-party who does not have the attachment nor the emotional trauma of that stony gravesite of both of her parents might be able to see things she would miss. very well, the worlida finally responds to henwen's offer. i'm sure there are things you can find that i would miss.

and in truth ...praimfaya does not wish to return to that stony grave any time soon. maybe not ever. the gaping wounds in her heart left by the untimely death of her parents haven't even begun to heal. they still bleed and ache. are you hungry? praimfaya asks in lieu of where she'd normally offer a tour. surely it has not been so long that henwen has forgotten the layout of roangeda's fen. our caches are still pretty bare — courtesy of the famine that has been plaguing them persistently. but perhaps we can find something to hunt together, if you are? hunts, just like spars, were a good way to further bond, praimfaya has come to learn.

nanowrimo: 245

The woman nodded, understanding why she would take so long. The emotional trauma would be heavy still. But she agreed to her offer, so she would go once she was sure the pack was well enough for her to do so. Praimfaya was wise and had more knowledge than some may first think. 

"We should try for a pack hunt." She smiled softly. She would stay long enough for that, for the famine was heavy, they could all feel it. She might find a morsel in a cache, but if they could get something large, then she could search without feeling guilt. She smiled, ready for orders from her leader. Of course, she would have to listen to Dacio, but what if the time came when it was a choice between Parimfaya and Dacio's orders? 
Henwen would likely choose to follow Parimfaya. She was the product of Blodreina's dream and surely she should follow it; she could only do so with support.

henwen's suggestion — that they have a pack hunt — did not fall upon deaf ears; merely, skeptical ones. praimfaya's lips pull into a terse line of thought despite the soft nod she gives the older woman. it is a good suggestion, yes, but given the famine more or less moot. still, she does not wish any of her kru to think their voices go unheard by their ( to be ) commander she replies with, when the herds not chased from the wilds by winter return we will have a pack hunt. to celebrate. to sup until their bellies were so full they felt like they might burst at the slightest misstep.

for now, it is the best praimfaya can do. was she capable, she would summon the herds back with some forestborne magick without hesitation. alas, she has nothing of the sort. she, like all else, remains limited by her own physically mortal capabilities ...capabilities that she is still discovering and honing. though there is linkoln, the spirit of the first wanheda to guide her, praimfaya doubts the commander's spirit is magic ( not that, mind, she's ever told anyone about her 'spiritual guide'.

speaking of hunting reminds me, there is one crucial piece of information she has yet to give henwen. there is an older woman, a crone of the sea ...dacio calls her blackhead, though praimfaya's slight roll of her shoulders is meant to communicate to her welcomed-back splita that she doesn't know the crone's actual name. she leads the coastal pack, rusalka. dacio and opalia, and my mother have bad history with her. she is our enemy ...and she hunts one of my bloodkru, dragomir and isi were all she had left of blood family now. this strengthens her desire to see them safe and well, to keep her promise to isi and by extension, dragomir. if the crone is spotted you, as instructed of all roankru are to not engage her. you should come to dacio and me immediately. from there, the worlida and klikalida would decide how to best handle the looming threat.

one way or the other, the crone would be dealt with. of this, praimfaya is confident.

nanowrimo: 376

She nodded. The Worlida's word was final and would be treated as such. Henwen decided she needed to search for the herds closer to home, rather than following them too far in case the quakes strike again. 
Her leader went on to explain more about a possible target.

Blackhead.

Why was she called that? Perhaps she'd find out if she went to the graves of her parents. Rusalka. Perhaps that should be where her search ends. A last inquiry into who this infamous blackhead even was. A good guess would be if her face was black, but the rest not. Crone, old. It shouldn't be too hard since the markings were so unique.

"I understand." And she found the name of the Klikalida. Dacio. She knew it'd be his name because they clearly have common enemy, so why not put them both at the top. "What is the instruction if she engages with us?" Surely, if this woman was suspected to be a danger she would be an issue of engaging with them, not the other way around. Right?

praimfaya's ear twitches to the side as she considers, an itch in her flank causing her to reach back and nip at it a few times to soothe it before her attention goes back to henwen. just in time, too, to catch the question. what if she engages us? it was a good question and admittedly, one that the young worlida hadn't considered. would she? many moons have passed since praimfaya and dacio ran into her and she has yet to make an appearance on roangeda's doorstep. undoubtedly in praimfaya's mind, the crone still hunts isi.

dacio worries she will come here, praimfaya admits, though she cannot say she fully agrees with that assumption. but if she does it will be for me. because praimfaya wasn't entirely sure the crone believed that she wasn't verx's daughter. praimfaya was the daughter of ingram and blodreina, proudly so at that ...but there was no way for the rusalkan crone to know that unless she told her. she hunts a girl, about my own age. the daughter of a man named vercingetorix and she seems rather fixated on her hunt.

if she does engage, dacio and her had yet to discuss the stipulations of that. defend yourself, and if you can ...capture her. bring her back to roangeda.

nanowrimo: 229

It was good enough. A simple enough command, but blackhead obviously had some skill to cause worry. But there was more information for her own hunt, which seems to have two ends which may or may not be linked. She'd find out soon enough. 

"I will." She confirmed she would enact on her instructions. "What is the girl's name? If I find her in my search, should I bring her here?" It would be useful to know. Especially if Paryinfia worries for her, who clearly seems to be a friend. It may bring war on Roangeda, but it already seemed to be brewing.
Soon, she would have to go take care of herself. Meet the pack.

henwen confirms that she will do as instructed if she is engaged by the rusalkan crone and praimfaya finds the response to her orders satisfactory. with that out of the way, their conversation drifts back to isi as henwen inquires about her name and if she's found should she, too, be brought to roangeda. praimfaya's instinct reaction is to say 'yes', because she believes that is the safest place for her bloodkru ...for it is where they will always be welcome. and yet, she recognizes that it is her belief and not her decision to make. isi was not to be treated as a prisoner. her name is isi, praimfaya informs her splita. and she is only to be brought to roangeda if that is what she wishes. the worlida tells the older woman sternly. if she wishes to be taken elsewhere then that is where you are to escort her to.

a pause is given, a prolonged lull in the conversation as praimfaya thinks she's covered everything and that henwen is up-to-date. is there anything else? if not, i'll let you go introduce yourself to the other kru.

with that, praimfaya gives henwen a departing smile and takes her leave, moving to finish her patrols.

nanowrimo: 215