Stavanger Bay Oh won't you come with me

discussion of ranks / umbra hates her title

The world 'saltlady' irked her so. Warriors were warriors, and leaders were leaders, there was no 'lady' in the mixture. The Kraken's thought of a 'lady' was a docile woman, who was there for motherhood and pleasantries, rather then the way she wanted so. Firstly Umbra accepted so, but after returning and meeting another..

It was embarassing to even say.

She sought out @Wintersbane, for some questions about it. Not in the dissatisfaction of her rank, but simply the name. She would prefer being the Sealord, but Saltlord would suffice.

wintersbane is busy; as he is most days. absently keeping tabs on the rutting herds in the sentinels, refreshing borders ( finally all mapped out and initial marked ), utilizing the cliffside on the eastern front of the bay to suss out the neutral territory directly connected to it. it is upon the top of the cliff he stands in a lion king-esque manner, peering out over the sea.

the skies are clear; water calm.

attempting to teach himself sea/weather watching to be able to be a living compass of when they would need to seek shelter further inland than their bay was being pulled directly from what he already knew of storms.

he doesn't imagine it'd be too different coming from the sea.

the reaper amazon's form is seen, caught in his polar gaze as it scours his own claim, drawing nearer across the shifting sands of the bay. he turns 'round from his high perch and descends down it at a steady pace, letting out the small breath he'd been holding when his front paws touch soft, cool sand.

he approaches umbra with a low chuff.

The kraken had her pride, even upon the Saltking, she still held her head high with dignity, but her voice was not haughty, but calming as she addressed him so, "Wintersbane," she greeted while approaching, "I would like to request a change amongst our ranks."

"The title of lady displeases me so," Umbra was to explain. If he looked at her well, she felt well-enough to be a beauty, but the aura she gave was not one of sophistication as she expected of a 'lady.' It dissatisfied her, "I would prefer to be called Saltlord, or Sealord, something more appropriate to my name."

umbra, her name murmured from his lips in a return greeting; glacial gaze watching her. she begins vague, but calm and for a moment this earns wintersbane a small cant of his head in curious contemplation only for realization to dawn upon him as she elaborates. of course. she'd spoken that the title 'lady' regardless of where it placed her, did not suit her and he remembers, clearly, agreeing to speak about it later.

today was clearly later.

we could do way with 'lady' and 'queen' and switch them, respectively, to 'saltlord' and 'sealord'. he hadn't really meant for it to be misogynistic but sees, now, how it might be misconstrued as such. making you, as sealord, my equal. despite his reservations of making a stranger such a high position umbra proves herself to him time and again. for whatever it was worth ironclan was theirs for she, truly, has been with him since it's conception.

She grinned widely. Again, has this man pleased her so. She held high respect for him, despite not seeing much of his accomplishments as a warrior, or a leader. Though the border was often marked by him so, and dutifully was he trying to claim what was for Ironclan. 

Worthy, of her loyalty.

"I will accept it," for once, did the kraken bow her head in gratitude. It was not vocally said, as pride held a little to firm for so, but she expressed it. He had no reason to give her such a rank, equal in power, and the title she so desired. Though with such names and powers given, she was more prone for the loyalties of the Ironclan. Proudly so now, she was especially pleased by this news.

"Have you thought of other ranks?" Speaking so, she only remembered vaguely talking about it, but they never had an in-depth conversation. Umbra was interested on his formation thoughts.

she accepts the changes and wintersbane is glad for it; it wasn't as if he were particularly attached to either rank name and if they are to be co-leaders — equals at that — her opinion matters and must be regarded and heard. it's a lot of trust to place upon each other but all trust must start somewhere, wintersbane tells himself and then thinks of it no more.

i have, wintersbane affirms with a firm nod and launches into a detail in regards to the other ranks ( that torvi doesn't want to list out in an unnecessarily long monologue because she's super lazy ), pulling from both practical and mythos for inspiration. he even goes further, telling her of his idea for the ironwill trial; similar but with varying levels of difficulty between cubs and adults.

when he is finished, he falls silent, polar gaze searching her visage for her reaction; the look on his face a silent invitation for her to give her thoughts and opinions on these as well.

The ranks were satisfactory and she didn't have much objection to so, rather more impressed he thought of such unique rankings. However, Umbra was more interested in the ironwill testing, and rose a brow in curiosity. She thought about it, and decided to share a bit, "in my motherland, we have a test for our young. They are to dive off the highest cliff, if they survive, they are one of us. If they do not- then they belong to davey jones locker."

A harsh reality for the warrior-pack of the sea. Though Umbra would rather not think more on the past, for she found it dead to her. Though some culture of the sea-baring wolves still remained close, such as the trial of when they are old enough. She agreed with the ways, finding that the weak should be tossed away, if not to fend for themselves. She too, had to go through it.

the test of her home and the one he proposes for the cubs ( and adults ) of the clan is no less harsh, necessarily; but more indirect than her homelands’ blunter way. the specifics have yet to be entirely worked out but he has a keen eye on the small island not too far from the bay’s shores — close enough to swim — that he intends to scout out at length as he comes up with further details of the trial. i plan to scout the small island to come up with set tasks. tests that would, if everything went well, prove the mettle and perhaps the cunning of the wolves of the clan.

once we have more recruits to our ranks i’ll scout it out at length. for now, there were more pressing concerns and no point in wasting the time if they couldn’t bolster their numbers.

"I am a born seafang, I can be of help to find the isles." She was a warrior to the bone, of the thunder and waves, but she was a grand swimmer, for her life belonged to the sea. Darkened and black, taking one down, and she will fight to find the land where her paws belong. Though heart is ironbound to the sea itself, and she refused to part and seek inland to the forests.

seemed like a good place to wrap this up. feel free to archive as is or archive with your post! <3

the information that she is born ‘seafang’ piques his curiosity: was it a rank or was it her birthplace? this only solidifies how much he truly knows about her ( not much ). walk a patrol with me? he offers without pressure, letting it open to be rejected without repercussion. perhaps you can tell me more about what it means to be ‘seafang’. if she decides to join …and if not then perhaps he could touch upon the topic again. even so, wintersbane understands not wanting to broadcast one’s entire life — even to packmates. in everything he’s done and that has happened in his life he’s shared with precious few.

at any rate, i’ll be glad for the help scouting the isle. it was, after all, apart of their bay and without being sure what awaited him ( or anyone else he sent there ) it struck wintersbane as a good idea to have someone with more coastal experience than him assist.

with his thanks given and his offer made, whether she accepts the offer to patrol with him or not, wintersbane heads towards them all the same.

word count: 185

Umbra nodded to his suggestion, and followed the large northern man to patrol their territory. Generally she had gotten a good grasp onto the territory, and adjusted as so. Monitoring the borders of the beach was easier then most, for their backs was to the ocean, then an endless unknown forest.

The Sealord then explained the titlement of a 'seafang,' but did not discuss else of her past. It something she preferred to be left untouched, and made it clear it was not something she would be willing to discuss. Though what she was willing was their customs, and explaining so that a 'seafang' was a general term for a stormborn warrior. They were a general term for warriors of the sea, and formed by the harshness that was the waves. Only by doing the cliff jump, may one be granted seafang.

After explaining so, she concluded that their patrol was over, and bid the Saltking adieu.