Whitefish River and eyes flecked with ash

for @Ira. i hope it's ok to 'backdate' this a little bit to be on her way from the coast back to sagtannet.

praimfaya, wounds not entirely healed but certainly on the mend, begins to arduous journey back to sagtannet; eager to get home but realizing as she approaches the edge of blacktail deer plateau that it would not be as quick as she'd hoped. her right shoulder aches and she takes a break in the shade of the plateau's treeline, staring briefly at the rolling emerald knolls that give way into a river that splits the land where, upon the otherside, the fresh borders of a pack warn her away. she glimpses at her shoulder, feeling relief that she has not torn open the mending flesh and scabs.

it's a hot morning; cloudless, the golden rays of the sun shining upon the world unobscured and after a half an hour of rest in the shade, praimfaya pushes herself to her paws once more, contemplating her options.

she will have to go around, either circle wide and extend her trip by a day or climb and cut thru porcupine ridge, which was probably shorter but would require more of her physically. unsure, she hesitates, approaching the plateau's banks of the river to drink from the cool and refreshing waters. the pack scent on the other side hits her again and after a moment of deliberation — should she warn them of the hostile and territorial woman haunting the ravenswood — she tips her head back and lets out a howl.

better that she does, she thinks. they are close to the woods and the last thing praimfaya needs is another guilty conscious by knowing how violate the dark woman was but not sharing the information with those who might make better use of it.

I think thats fine! Note to self it just means Ira won't know about her from Hua yet

She is already along the borders when a call goes up. The kids had been left in the hands of @Hieronymous to give her a chance to stretch her legs, though it seems that he will have to wait a bit longer. It wouldn't take long for Ira to move, she was already on the northern end of the territory and soon a silver woman would become visible through the trees. She lingered past the edges of the border by the riverside...wounded.

Ira was cautious as she approached, though not of the stranger, but what might be lurking nearby to cause such damage. Luckily as she neared it became apparent that the wounds were not freshly bleeding, they had already begun to scab over. Golden eyes flicked from the wounds to the girl's eyes to avoid staring for too long, Hello...This is Kaistleoki. What brings you here? She was no healer, but she could only assume she was looking for help. Unfortunately, she was unsure how stocked they were to tend to an outsider, especially when their healers were denbound.

not too long after praimfaya's howl ceases to linger in the air, she is greeted by greyscale woman from the otherside of the river. kaistleoki. the name strikes her as familiar but she cannot place where she's heard it before, at present. hadn't dacio and her sought them once ...—? it doesn't matter, she reminds herself. i am praimfaya kom attakru. i hail from sagtannet. she thinks it best to introduce herself first and foremost, enjoying how 'kom attakru' sounds upon her tongue. it gives her a feeling of home that she hasn't felt since roangeda splintered into ruins.

i am here of my own accord, to warn you of trouble in your area of the wilds here. without divulging all the information right away, praimfaya hopes to gauge the woman's interest in the news before continuing. as wanheda she would want to know of troublemakers in her neck of the woods but she respects that not all leaders are like her and thinks it better to see how her news might be received first.

especially given that the smart her mending neck causes as she talks makes her feel ever the less inclined to do so.

The girl offered a name as well as her pack, both unfamiliar. Little did she know it was the remains of two packs she had sought out before, but now rekindled under another name. Even though she was unaware of the girl's home it would still be rude not to offer her own name, I'm afraid your home is unknown to me. I go by Ira, I am the leader here.

Gold eyes shifted to the land past her as she explained the nearby danger. Perhaps she wasn't away from her attacker yet after all. Are you in danger now? She wasn't fond of the idea of harboring a stranger who caught somethings attention, especially with pups around, but if it was not safe to speak here then they must move. I do not take threats lightly. What might you have to share?

praimfaya takes no insult to the woman's — ira, she introduces herself as — admission of not knowing her name or pack name. though it comes as some surprise to know that news of sagtannet hasn't made it this far...she tucks it away for now. we claim sawtooth spire. she offers with an absent and weak gesture in the direction of the spire though she supposes it doesn't really matter. she wasn't here on official business, anyway.

no, praimfaya is quick to assure her. i left her in a bad state. or the woman should be feeling the extent of her injuries just as praimfaya was, at any rate; but it was no secret that praimfaya hadn't concerned her with the woman's state when she'd taken the opportunity to leave.

a man and woman claim that the ravensblood forest belongs to them. they will greet with hostility and violence. the woman was the one that i fought with. praimfaya informs ira solemnly. even if they turn out to be nothing more than a nuisance, i tell you of them in the hopes you might pass along the warning to your wolves to avoid the ravensblood forest. whether ira did so or not ...well that was up to her. if they are eventually successful in forming their pack, praimfaya's mouth twists the word pack belaying her belief that two wolves was a long shot from a pack. well, they might present a bigger problem.

and maybe for more than just kaistleoki. though sagtannet sits comfortably upon its temple of risen stone and earth ...she does not pretend like that makes their home impregnable and safe.

The silver girl offers a direction, a place along the mountain range. Perhaps Reiko knew of them as she has done some exploring through there. She too had passed over the mountains, but apparently not south enough to encounter this pack. Noted. It was a relief to hear that the attacker too was left in a disabled state, or at least one where she would not be pursuing now.

Ravensblood Forest. The name was foggy, but she recalled one of their scouts traveling there once. At the time the area had been empty, but if there were only two then they must have recently settled. An aggressive group nearby was not good news though, worse that they wanted to form a pack. The Count's maw twisted into a frown as the facts settled in her memory. I see. Troubling indeed, it would do us no good to have them settle close to our lands. For now, it is just the two?

Should their group remain small they could be handled. Perhaps they could even wait until her children were old enough to care for themselves, but that might be too idealistic. The longer they reside the longer they had the chance to grow and fester like an open wound.

for now, yes, praimfaya replies to ira's inquiry about their numbers; and if she were a different kind of woman, less draconian she might've felt bad about the way this might sabotage donavan too ...but they've only had one spar and while it had been amiable if he couldn't control the violent impulses of his own subordinate then that was a consequence he would have to deal with. the woman would rue the day she picked a fight with praimfaya kom agttakru. praimfaya might be healing and unable to re-engage in battle ...but she would wage a new kind of war in the meantime.

but that doesn't make them any less dangerous. i'm a seasoned warrior, nearly a master warrior and she did a number on me. of course being almost a master warrior does not make praimfaya infallible but the point still stands. she doesn't think they are an annoyance to simply sweep under the rug until they become an actual problem.

I'll keep that in mind, though I have no intention of fighting them right now. Admittedly, it would be easier to just force the two out before things grow serious. That of course would require numbers, numbers she had, but not at the cost of the new young. Perhaps Reneian Empire would be able to assist or offer more knowledge on the troublemakers. Though...you say she is weak now? How long of a recovery might she have? If she is that talented then perhaps striking while she is weak would be best. The Count might have jumped on board with this removal before it was truly required, but without knowing how skilled the warrior really was, Ira could only assume the worst and deem the situation more dangerous. After all, it was better to assume the worst and have things turn out for the better rather than come unprepared.

time wasted waiting an toiling, to praimfaya, was time lost. she doesn't think the packs the closest to the ravensblood should dilly dally on chasing them off ...but ultimately, it was up to them. if they didn't think they were a real issue ...then that was their problem. it was like waiting to see a medic about a festering wound that saw no signs of improvement; but what they did with the information she presents to them is not her business. they could heed it or ignore her. she did her part of putting the warning out there.

you always strike the reckless when they are down, is what priamfaya wants to say but bites her tongue. i'm well enough now to make the return trip home. i can't say for sure how long it'll be until she can fight again, if she isn't already wandering around regardless. crazy as praimfaya thinks nemisis is, she wouldn't put it past the woman to disregard the extent of her wounds.

Could probably wrap this up here?

Perhaps she should have figured from the warrior's own wounds the state of this savage woman. Praimfaya had a point, her wounds were beginning to heal, that meant her own must be too, but they might be in a state where she was still heavily afflicted by her injuries. The warrior wouldn't have to explain further gaining a nod from the Count in acknowledgment. Very well, thank you for informing us before matters are worse. Is there anything you need before you continue your travels? Perhaps our Physician can look at your wounds or a small meal can be provided. Sparing food wasn't exactly ideal, but she had made the effort to warn complete strangers. It was the least they could do to repay her for going out of her way. Something small would not affect their caches.

archiving with my post!

with her piece spoken, praimfaya knows she has no reason to linger here as their conversation draws to a natural close. she has no further information to offer ira and though the other woman is generous enough to offer her some food or to be looked at by a medic, praimfaya knows she will decline before she communicates it. no, i'm fine, she declines. thank you though, ira. she shifts her weight upon the loamy soil of the bank and lets out a soft sigh thru clenched teeth as she distributes her weight evenly. may we meet again under better circumstances. with those words, praimfaya departs, eager more now than ever to return to the familiarity of sagtannet.