Northstar Vale A Long Journey Ongoing

@Andraste here be the post!!![ooc]



Nyra looked around at the greenery, the vast array of trees and shrubbery.
The journey so far had been a long one. Most nights restless and rarely full amounts of sleep just so she had more chance of not being attacked during moonhigh.
She could smell other wolves around to some degree, but she couldn't place a scent, though one was vaguely familiar...
"That lightning-scarred shewolf..." Nyra muttered.
"Does she live close by?" The mammoth shewolf wondered aloud, pausing once as she continued through the Vale.
She had heard something about Easthollow being more willing for new wolves from a raven that joined her at a carcass a few nights ago, and was headed back that direction from the Great Bear Wilderness to take her chances.
The wood was silent, minus the chirping of birds and the occasional fleeing rabbit or so.
But as hungry as Nyra was, she would not give chase as a courtesy to any wolves that may be taking den in this area.
"Maybe I'll be able to pass through unannounced..." Nyra mumbled, swiveling her ears.

[/ooc]

Aiolos was on the move, as he usually was; a restless young male. The moonlight left the fiery coloration of his coating bright and yet out before him, the stark white female was aglow. She looked like a phantom in this moonlight, she could be the moon herself.

Aiolos had thought he followed behind the scarred woman which guided them but a sniff tought him otherwise. He neared closer and now, knew certain it was not she and, a female he had yet to meet. Though she didnt have the scent of any of the Vale wolves upon her. She sid not have the familiar scent. 

Her words confirmed it all, mumbled into the night air and Olo's ears perked to them. I think not. He spoke, for the first time holding himself in regard as a protector to these lands.

v v small post im sry y'all-

Cassandra—
but this wanderer was not she. Though indeed the two great females bore the same heft, the same lumber, this was not the nordling that the stricken had met last in the Court's weald. Be that as it may, the fée wisped light to the scene all the same;
heard the rich intonations of the burnished Aiano' jurisdiction. For all of it, she looked to the moonmade amazonian; silent, awonder. Halfsight the only inquiry thus not yet spoken:  who was this before them, passing through their glens?

"I think not" said a voice behind her.

Nyra whipped around, hackles raised and teeth bared accompanied by a fearsome growl. Taking in the male before her, she sized him up, studied him.
There didn't seem to be any immediate aggression to his form.
Hesitantly, Nyra lowered her hackles and sheathed her fangs, keeping her tail raised a bit.
"I'm just passing through. I mean you no trouble." The mammoth woman rumbled softly, taking a step back, then planting her paws firmly.
Her fiery eyes met his only briefly, before she looked away again. Having been threatened the last time she met a wolf's gaze, she didn't want to repeat the error. She didn't want to fight, either.

Then, Nyra noticed the scarred female next to him, and she paused, swiveling her ears back a little. She didn't know if these two meant her any harm, but she was outnumbered if that were the case.
"Have I seen you before?" Nyra asked softly, aimed to Andraste though she knew not her name, as of yet.

The large stark white female whipped around, on guard and aggressively. Aiolos quickly went on the defense, his own hackles raising, neck inching back and ears falling. His tail did not rise as hers, however, but he prepared himself for the attack and his retaliation would swiftly come. If he was a man of anything, it was endurance and he had gone long with a tussle amongst the men of his former home. 

However,  she eased once she realized he had not originally displayed himself aggressively. Aiolos head lifted, ears perking again, though his body remained stiff, ready. 

You would pass through pack territory then to go around it? We live in a valley with mountains on all sides. To come into our land can only be purposeful. He was used to women thinking themselves far smarter then men, sure. Most were. But how dumb could she possibly think him? Aiolos would not normally speak to a female in such a manner, but this was their land and she was an intruder. The women within this Vale were his duty to protect. Besides guarding and used for breeding, what else did he have?

Andraste's arrival to his side made him further alert, attentive to the actions of the large moonlit female before them. Silently, he awaits as the women take the floor.

At the male's harsh wording, Nyra rumbled, her lip twitching

"It seemed like the fastest way to where I
Intend to go, though now I know I was wrong. I'm headed East, to the valley on the other side of this territory. Easthollow, if you know it. As I stated before and will repeat with my full honesty - I'm only passing through. I intend no harm to you, or those you reside with. I have no intention of taking your prey either." Nyra said evenly, her voice was clear, yet soft.

"Escort me to the edge of your lands if it makes you feel better. Though I would like to go alone, I can understand the caution."

She glanced back to the stricken one, bringing her ears forward just a little

Andraste herself does not know that the stranger before her has, indeed, seen her in some manner before; she does not know that the northron had happened upon the then-flawed hunt after her own departure; and so her shorn brow only knits with uncertainty, before she listens to the words which Aiolos then hisses, until— 

"Easthollow?"  She had not been to that shrouded place of stones, sprung from the bowels of the very earth for ... well, a year this moon, she thinks. Perhaps the mammoth will speak more of it on the way, but in the meantime:  "I would wish for your person to be escorted, if you have no qualms of such?"  For the safety of her Court ... and for the wandress' saftey, as well. There were things that still lurked within their hinters that remained yet undiscovered.

"I would wish for your person to be escorted, if you have no qualms of such?" The stricken one said.

Nyra sighed gently, looking eastward for a few moments before she returned her flame-gold eyes to Andraste

"I have no qualms with your request. Besides, company after long periods of loneliness should always be welcome."

The giantess offered a small smile and bowed her head a little to acknowledge that this scarred female must have high status within her ranks. She turned her gaze then to the flame-bright male that was also there.

"My name is Nyra. I was born far to the south of here, to Freya and Fenris of the Direfangs clan, of which all wolves but me, presumably, have died from murder or sickness, all for my grandmother who passed of old age. It is a pleasure to meet you both, regardless of the circumstances."

 A fool. So, she admits, to purposefully knowing that this region was being marked for claim and yet still decided to push forth anyhow. She didnt even bother to try and lie, as though she did not take notice to the markers. Yet Andraste was a very kind and understanding woman. She had been so to him even, when he had fallen unconscious at the edges of their homeland when trying to avoid the quakes. Had this been a much harsher environment, to which Olo was used to, there would have been little room for the female to continue her explanation. 

She did not come to sneak in, to steal from them. Only uncaring pass into claim land to get where she was going as the easiest route. When she mentioned being recorted, Aiolos turned to Andraste questioningly. She spoke and with agreement. The stranger, too, agreed. Not that she had much choice in the manner. After an introduction and a little backstory of where she hailed from, Aiolos dipped down his crown in equal introduction. I am Aiolos. He had only for her. Long ago had he abandoned his surname as well as push the memories of his birth home behind him,  yet the scars remained.

Aiolos took a single step forward and then paused, a signal for them to begin.

It is a pleasure to meet you both, regardless of the circumstances;
admitted thereafter the giantess had given tell her tale; a harrowing one, at that, and as the stricken fell upon Nyra's other side  (not that there would be must to guard against such a great female)  she felt a meager anguish wrest the planes her waxen façade.  "I have no place to fathom what such a phase must have been like for you,"  found herself echoing an old adage:  "We should not have to lose ze ones we love, though it happens so endlessly."

A pale shake of marred head.  "I am Andraste,"  eyes glimmering to the firebrand who atteneded them both,  "and we seek to bring forth a realm of our own making, here. How does ze land fare, if I may ask? We ... are not so sure if ze earth still quakes."  So soon she must reinforce the premises of the Court; to keep a weather eye out for such wanderers; to have terms to talk of; conditions to pore over.

This instance was an exception, she supposes.

Nyra turned back around so the firebrand and Andraste could flank her. As they began to walk, the stricken one offered her sympathies, to which Nyra nodded at her last words in agreement. Then, she asked about the land. How it fared.

"I haven't felt the ground rumble for some time now. I think we'll be safe, but, I can't promise complete security. The earth is her own entity, therefore she is unpredictable. At least, that's how I see it." Nyra responded with a lighthearted chuckle.

"So, you and your wolves seek to make your home here?" Nyra inquired, repeating back what Andraste had said.

"This seems like a beautiful place, I'm sure you, Aiolos and the rest of your pack will fare without much hardship here." She was aiming for her words to be a compliment, a showing of kindness and an extension of friendship.

Aiolos moves and as he does, listens silently to the words of Andraste and Nyra shared. For Aiolos, it was just opposite and he would have been happy to never see any of his birth family ever again, hoped not to, even if it was the only family perhaps he would ever have. 

The wanderer too had not felt any tremors where she had traveled from. Nor had Aiolos since he had first come here. Though the after effects would still remain for some time- the destruction and loss over the floods, the landslides, tsunami and lost lives. 

Aiolos nodded about them taking this place as home as confirmation as the woman explained how beautiful it was here. Aiolos spoke not again, his snappy comments now silenced that Andraste was here for it was she who's words mattered most. He need not speak for her or her pack.

The earth indeed was an entity of entirely her own making; Andraste was not aversive to this notion, and could only nod along in pensive quiet as Nyra gave tell of the condition of said lands. Next no quakes, as is reported; and through the praise that befalls upon her and Aiolos' ears, it is only half-listened to, for the stricken lingers within other ruminations. With the land settling, that must mean larger game would return — though, not as soon as any of them would like.

"That remains to be seen,"  she muses, tones a bit absent; but soon surrenders a gentled smile of apology, altogether present or no.  "There are ze winters to worry of; and food will be ever scarcer, and we have migrated to be more in ze cusp of ze north, hoping they might have fled so. Our wolves may very well have some shelter o'er their heads ... for now, it is enough."  For now, for now ...

lil' cameo bc im bored 

it was down to nothing but chance that the ghost happened to come across two others choosing to roam the silvered night. yet upon presuming they are both members of her new pledging, the woman draws back; still unwilling to actively seek conversation. yet from the shadows she lingers, observant in her silence. a twitch of her nose accompanied by ears leaning forward informs her that the towering woman is not a wolf of courtfall and despite lingering doubts at her decision to reside here, instinct leads to her form tensing and hackles raising slightly. it's a surprisingly reassuring feeling to come across her, the duty to protect. her breath hitches lightly.

the man who is meant to be here reacts quite accordingly and she struggles to contain the want to scoff at the fae's audacity to announce she simply intruded down to convenience. ears cannot resist the tug towards her head now as they lay flat with irritance and is close to joining this unknown man when; softly....dark gaze flicks to fall upon the scarred queen of this group as she emerges from the lengthening shadows. curiously she follows her movements; quick to notice the absence of aggression, dominance. not necessarily frustrated as much as....surprised, she would say rarely but in fact, the correct description would be never. never had she seen such a calm approach to one intruding on their land and...

her jaw almost falls comically ajar when the moon bathed woman speaks in soft, lilting tones leading up to an agreement to escort her through their territory. a soft hmph slips forth, unsatisfied by the display and as they begin to move; chatting like old friends, she cannot help but spin around with a lash of her long tail and retreat through the long grasses. not a care goes towards being silent, she could not care if her presence was known.

Nyra tilted her head at Andraste's words, furrowing her brow a bit

"I wish you and your pack luck in finding better shelter, if where you stay now does not suffice." The mammoth she-wolf offered, ducking to avoid a low-hanging tree branch, likely one that had snapped higher up, but she didn't bother to look upward to check.

"In truth, I have been to Easthollow once before, but due to the lack of prey at the time, I was turned away. I heard from a raven that dined with me a few nights or so ago that the prey was returning and everything was settling back down, so I wanted to take my chances with requesting rank again." Nyra admitted, swiveling her ears back as she scanned their surroundings, admiring the scenery.

Indeed, had it not been for ths quakes, winter would have found the herds run off anyhow. However, now they were going a longer stretch without much prey to go off of because of it. Aiolos had turned to what was in his nature, fishing when everything else failed. When the large game fled from the quakes, the fish of course remained in their lakes, their streams, their ponds... but when they froze over... 

Aiolos breathed deep, keeping pace with the two women. Alias, along side two white coated females, she spies another at a distance. She is small, lithe, unlike the woman they were escorting out. Alas it seemed much of the members held striking white if not very opposite of dark. Oh how beautifully the moonlight made them glow! 

The small woman through the forestry leaves swift though without Aiolos catching sight of her anger. The same which he had held. His jaw tightened when the trespasser mentioned luck at finding better shelter, perhaps because Aiolos favored the place so. She explained then she wished to return to this Easthollow pack for acceptance when she had been firstly turned away. It must have been a promising pack and land for her to come back for another chance when so many others were around.

Nyra's ears twitched as the grasses and underbrush made noise to the side. With a furrowed brow, the she-wolf turned her head in the direction from which the loudness came. A smaller white wolf, running off.
Perhaps, I might have drawn more attention than I would have liked to... Nyra thought, shrugging as she and her escorts made their way to the East.


-----------------------------------


"Thank you for accompanying me to the edge of your lands." Nyra said, her voice back to it's normal pitch, not quite booming, though not whisper-soft either. She turned her gaze from Aiolos and Andraste to the terrain before her, taking a breath as she readied herself to continue forward alone.
"It was a pleasure to meet you both. I wish you and your wolves luck in all your endeavors, and I wish your lands an abundance of prey. My respects to you, Andraste, and you, Aiolos, for your kindness and tolernace of my carelessness."
From there, Nyra passed over the border, looked back once to bow her head deeper than the first time, and then she was off, taking at a slow gallop toward the Rising Sun Valley.

last reply from me

More well-wishing; the stricken might have given tell of her old tale of a visitation to Easthollow, had the pleasantries been tucked away beneath further discussion of the lands about them. As it was, though, the giantess again blessed them, thanked them, and soon strode from their sights over the Court's perimeters. The dismissal of Tundra would be addressed later;

But for now, the fée only turned to the burnishmed male at her shoulder, and drew him once more into their shared realm, to speak of all that had occurred and all that might still yet come.