Hushed Willows álfardómstólinn

For a while, the ravine that separated the Raven's Watch from the neighbouring Willows kept the wolves of the Watch from entering. Valmúa and her clan had each been doing their part to scout out the surrounding areas of their chosen stronghold. It was the one just beside them that she knew the least about and could be a potential threat to the northerners.
@Stjornuati was assisting today in the discovery of the pack of wolves holding the Willows for themselves. He was bigger and stronger than she was. Though she had started to regain the weight and muscles she had lost during her travel from the north, it would take weeks of sparring and good hunting for her to return to her true self once more. Regardless, she always had at least one of her brothers with her on higher risk journeys like this one.
Stjornuati would not be able to do it without her either. Though she was hardly a diplomat, she understood the common tongue better than either of her brothers. If nothing else, she provided the moral support they would need.
The pair did not call for any pack wolves. Instead, they took to scouting the border. It was thinly, but clearly marked. It was impossible to tell how many they might have in number, but from the smells alone, they may have been thinner in population. As they travelled along the forest border, Valmúa looked to her brother and grinned, speaking in a gruff whisper. Hvað lyktar þú mörgum? From her expression alone, it was clear she expected not enough to present a problem.

He would have been a fool to ignore the presence of a pack that lingered next door; since their arrival to the Watch, he did not ignore them, though he had kept an eye out without directly approaching them. Many evenings had found him scaling the Watch's peaks to see if he could spy any activity from his position, though nothing important had been gleaned from such actions. Their numbers were stronger now, however, and after talking with his siblings, it was determined that it was finally time for their distance to change.

Alongside Valmua he strode, cataloguing information as they went: herbs, wildlife, scent markers. Anything that could possibly be important, now or in the future. The scent of others kept him on edge, watchful of their surroundings to ensure that the pair was not ambushed while moving along the borders. An ear twisted in his sister's direction, his answer a low and guttural whisper to match her own. Ekki margir. Handfylli í besta falli. Vaguely, he remembered this scent from somewhere too, and lapsed into silence as he attempted to locate the memory of the wolf that had been laced of it.

With the speED OF LIGHT-

Izu hadn't been using her den much nowadays, which was a good and a bad thing in it's own ways. It was collecting cobwebs and collapsing into itself, yes, but at least it also meant she wasn't rotting away in it like before. So came the choice; would she be staying to clean, or crossing the realm for a little scouting again? Choices choices choices....

No, of course she wasn't cleaning.

The Fujiwara didn't know why, but as she approached the borders to leave, there was something vaguely farmiliar about one of the scents drafting in as she got closer (definitely not both) and it made the crane's heart thump with an instinctual dread. They were not bodies belonging to Seelie Court, so who?

Izumi's long legs drew to a stop a safe few feet from the borders, and when her amythest hues finally landed on one of them, her ears and tail perked. "I...remember you..." It was not the woman aside that she recognized, but the creamish man beside her -- from the time Bridget got into a fight....

As they patrolled, they were mindful not to cross the border as they did not know the full details of what they wanted from a relationship with this pack. Valmúa at least, tough hot-headed, had no desire to instill anger from their neighbours — at least not without cause. Stjornuati echoed her thoughts. Should they have trouble with these Hushed Willows wolves, they were unlikely to be outgunned.
They were not inspecting the border for very long before someone found them skulking. Val's ears swivelled to the sound of her approach. She stopped and lifted her head. A a long-legged, sprite of a wolf stood before them. She had strange eyes and was dipped in black points.
She remembered Stjornuati, but Valmúa did not look at him. She inspected the Willows wolf with an almost scientific eye. Perhaps this elegant little wolf would make Stjornuati a suitable wife. Such a pairing would build needed diplomacy, after all. Good, you know each other, said Valmúa firmly, though she should have clued in to the fact that her brother was just as likely to have had a bad encounter than a good one.

The wolf that appeared to investigate their presence was indeed familiar to him, her ink-dipped features stark in his memory. The cast was her, another wolf laced of this smell, and his dark-coated brother, deep in the watch where Solpallur had just awoken the unnamed one thinking she was their Engi. Push came to shove, shove began to turn into a real fight and Stjornuati had stopped it before blood could be drawn; a lucky thing now that he was face to face to her once more, though in decidedly better circumstances.

This one remembers you as well, lítið blek vel. How fares the other? He asked after her health, and perhaps the potency of their unhappiness with his brother (or him). How fare you?

Btw, its not saying Izumi can understand him, she just assumed so XD

The crane blinked with a sudden perplexity. She didn't know whether to be more confused with his chose of words, or how calm he was despite their last encounter. Also -- did he just....call her some kinda name? In a different language? Well....that kinda hurts her feelings thinking about it, just a little. Though, as usual, Izumi keeps the sting hidden behind placid features. 'How fare the other?' Was another strange choice of words to Izu. It took her a moment to realize he was asking about her wellbeing, but still, she couldn't make out his motive in asking even though she tried to brand his "Partner" with her teeth not too long ago.

"I doing fine, I guess..." She responded softly,  momentarily averting her violet gaze elsewhere out of awkwardness before turning back to the two of them. It just occurred to her that she still didn't know why the sire and dame were at Seelie's doorstep, and would instinctively turn sideways as if "Protecting" something -- the borders. "You...you and your mate here to harm packmate?" the crane asked the two with worry in her voice. Obviously, Izumi couldn't guard shit -- she was about as useful in a fight as salt was to a wound. Still though, she's the one who encountered these two, and therefore had to do something to help if something bad happens....

Stjornuati's reaction to this young pretty little thing was encouraging to Valmúa. The girl's reaction was not as good. She seemed awkward and strange, and Val didn't think it had anything to do with a bashful nature. The girl asked if they, assuming their marriage, were here to harm one of her pack mates. The sister narrowed her eyes at Stjor, wondering in silence the fuck did you do? She then turned back to the young woman.
I am his sister, she snipped, careful to make sure that she inserted the his in the sentence. Being around her brothers, she found that at times, her language would falter into more of their patterns of speech when she was around them. She would leave out words that were important for the southerner's understanding. Her voice was crude and a touch rude given the inclination she might be fucking her brother, but the misunderstanding made some sense. Though the rust-coated northerner flared her nose, she quickly resumed a harmonious tone of voice.
We have our þjóð... people at the Watch. We come to say hello, she explained. Really, they came to see what was up. They were looking for resources. For Stjor, it was herbs and animals and whatever else, while Valmúa hunted for women like Izumi.

Her reaction was decidedly not what he expected, blinking his surprise as she asked if they were here to harm the other, the one that Solpallur had confronted, whose head @Solpallur had shoved into the ground, into the dirt. Allowing his sister to handle the matter of mates or siblings, Stjornuati would attend to the question of whether he brought violence to their doorstep, answering with a sharp and vehement Nei, accompanied by a single shake of his head.

He did not doubt that this would raise questions in Valmua's mind, but for now, the man ignored the sharp and silent accusation from the fire-cloaked woman, instead focusing on the blek vel. It is as she says. We are here to say hallo. We are as neighbors, ja? Want to start off on correct paw. If that was even possible now, but Stjornuati was determined to salvage what he could, especially as it was Valmua here and not the initial offender.

"What's this?" Sundance questioned as he approached from behind the strangers, having returned to his home from an unsuccessful hunt. Powder blue eyes swept over each if their hindquarters - golden and cinnamon - as his pace eased to a halt, "neighbours?"

He glanced beyond the unknown pair to steal a glance at his two-toned comrade, who seemed visibly unsettled by their presence on the court's borders. A muscle tightened in the silverwhite's jaw; with their numbers dwindling, he could understand her anxiety. His thoughts shifted to his encounter with the beasts of the hinterlands, and worry rose sharply within him that this duo might belong to that group - sent to invade the willows and displace the peace they sought.

A small "Oh...." was released from her lips upon being told that they were, in fact, siblings and not mates. The ginger woman's tone suggested that she might've been annoyed by the assumption, and Izu felt her face heat up in embarrassment because of it. Next, there is more of the unknown language being mixed in with their common, and the young crane couldn't help but think they were in a similar situation as she -- arriving to the Teekons -- having to get a better understanding of the language being spoken here -- and finding a place to call home. If it weren't for the less-than charming encounter from the other day, Izumi would've been a little more relaxed to the duo she could relate too.

Ink-stained audits pricked upward at the sound of another voice behind her, turning to see a familiar coat forged from sterling-silver; Sundance, she thought. She hadn't really interacted with the sire (well, aside from now of course) but from what she could tell, he'd been here for a while now. So have others that Fujiwara had yet to meet.

In response to his curious question, she nodded her pale cranium in agreement. "Yes, neighbors. Specifically from watch. Says they come to say hello..." She did not mention any suspicions she might've had on them yet. Perhaps later, or maybe not at all. Depends on how smoothly their current interaction went...

Another joined them as Stjornuati echoed her words. They really were just here to see what was up with their neighbours. After a while, Val had assumed that the neighbouring pack would come to them to scout out why they had taken up residence so close. However, it was a comfortable situation as far as packs were concerned given the geography alone. The ravine created a very healthy separation between the two in such a way that Val had assumed this was why they hadn't come.
The young, blue-eyed male, though. He was as Kigipigak: delicious and youthful, ready for the picking.
The two of them still seemed on alert, and Valmúa tried to find a way in. They seemed like good people. They were not offensive or nasty or rude. They were scouting out the situation, the same as she and her brother. So, Val guessed at what had happened, and she took the lead once more.
Yes, she continued after her brother and the ink-blotted one. I am Valmúa. He is Stjornuati, she said, continuing on. My family, we want good. Uh, friður, peace. This place. What do you call it? The question was honest, true. Though it was equally true that Val would readily have taken over this little snippet if any of it had suited had, that was not what they were here for.
Moreover, she wanted to know more of this delicious little man.

The repetition bothered the male. How many times did the locals need to acknowledge that they were neighbors, from the Watch? Many times, apparently. Still, Valmua handled it better than he could have in that moment, and he held no issue with her taking point on the conversation, simply nodding along with what she said. There was little of worth he could add here, though it was curious to him that neither wolf that manned the borders seemed... protective. Even aggression would not have struck him as odd, but this, this welcoming especially when their scents seemed so weak, struck an odd chord within the man who perked his ears to listen actively.

Sundance, silent as his pack-mate called out to elaborate on who the pair of strangers claimed to be, remained entirely neutral. The fact that these two wolves stood between he and his pack-mate did unsettle him, but he made no move to circle around them to join Izumi. One wrong move, one step too close, and they would surely be upon him.

He was quick to assuneassume that the red she-wolf was most dominant, as she took charge with words. To her Sundance glanced, sterling ears attentive, and offered introduction in return: "I am Sundance, and we are of Seelie Court. We only want peace as well."[/b]