Redtail Rise the coliseum

had she known her father and Ursus had set off to raid Rivenwood and take Laurel's life, she would have immediately raced off to join them, calling for the head for the woman who'd left her for dead.

as it were. . .Avicus has other concerns.

she stands upon one of the taller bluffs on the Rise and calls for @Tulimaq and @Ashlar, urgency in her voice. their numbers are still much too small for her liking, and she's unsure of how to proceed. she needs their help.

whether Ashlar can charm others into joining, or Tulimaq and herself use brute force to press them into service. . .

she sighs, muscles taut, her face clearly frustrated and looking a little older than its near-two years.

it's cold, and it'll be that way for a while.

they need the numbers.

Over the past week or so, Ashlar had managed to branch out and explore a fair portion of the surrounding lands. A lot of it he used to gather plants, but with winter, there wasn't much to find. It was lucky that he'd stayed with Gannet through the cold seasons and the warm. Ashlar knew a few tricks now, even with limited resources. Gathering had always been a game he and Baba had played, even when he was very young.

He was on the rise, thankfully, when Avicus' call rang out urgently. Ashlar might have feared that something happened, but she called another wolf as well. He had not really met her fellow packmate (his as well, now?) and he did not know what to expect. But while the butterflies danced a nervous dance in his stomach, he came eagerly to his friend's summons.

She wasn't happy. His smile died out, replaced with concern and a low, gentle wag of his tail.

His time with the little woman was like a long vacation from his other responsibilities. Hunting was difficult now, with the illness and the rival bands of wolves having done away with much of the livestock, but that was a challenge well met. He had even discovered a few women to warm his bed; all in all, not a terrible time.

It was the girl who called him now. Tulimaq happened to be nearby, so he moved to meet her - keeping himself alert for any changes to the red-coat also, in case the opportunity arose that he could further the Tartok agenda.

He boofed as he came upon her, smelling of the wilderness himself, and perhaps other women. Prideful, as always. Even when he saw a dark figure nearby - a boy? Tulimaq rumbled a note to him as well, half friendly, half warning.

the gang thus assembled, Avicus levels an insistent stare upon them both. we are nohh' enough, she says gravely, shaking her head. we needh more. more'han 'dhhree.

she is irked once more by the limitations of her speech, and pauses, teeth set in her lower lip. gaze wanders, toward their nearest border. she will not rest until their boundaries are pungent enough to perceive from far off; 

that all wolves of the taiga will know their betters.

Ulfhedinn, she addresses Tulimaq, nodding toward him. findh more hunner. figh'er. bring 'em here.

Hǣlend, and her eyes swivel to Ashlar. gah'her herb, an' mark bordhher. mark 'em well, Avicus adds, giving him a gimlet look. proudh. . .hhhrong. no fear.

she lifts her chin to survey both of them, now, and the unspoken word is clear:

understand?

Pride was something Ashlar could do, if he asked her to take pride in something that she was making. Strength might even be a possibility. But no fear... that would be a stretch for the boy.

Ashlar flinched at the warning in the other man's voice, almost imperceptibly, and took a small step away. His ears shifted uncertainly, but otherwise, he paid careful attention to what Avicus was saying. Despite her struggle, it was easy enough for him to understand, minus perhaps an extraneous word here and there.

She wanted more recruits, but she wanted them strong. She wanted them like this other man. Ashlar nodded, though internally he withered a bit at the thought. They would fill the pack with warriors and, yet again, Ashlar would be alone.

But Avicus was a warrior. He was being unfair again. Trying to bolster himself, he nodded a second time, this time with a bit more vigor. I've f....found some. I can do that.

And then maybe, when her fight was done, they could find more like him. He loved the friendships he had, but he missed a friend to sing with, or one to speak with about things like fears and troubles. It got lonely after a while, singing alone.

What the girl decreed was standard for any warband; Tulimaq appraised her request with the scrutiny of a dragon overlooking its hoard, with a flicker of disinterest spared to Ashlar as he tried to speak up.

This was not a job for boys. He huffed, and soon his crushed-gravel voice was speaking, dwarfing that of the dark-coated wolf.

The most effective warrior is one you have trained yourself. Tulimaq watched the girl expectantly as he explained this tiny lesson, his face unreadable. I will search. A better way would be to create what you need. 'Tis the season.

Though he wondered if the girl was yet old enough, or wise enough, to see the value in this direction. Patience was not something he had seen from the girl in red.

Ashlar speaks first, and she nods, though maintaining the hard stare. an' mark border, she repeats, hoping he will not shirk that responsibility in favor of frolicking within the foliage. it is not a difficult task she asks of him; it's not as if she needs him to fight.

then her eyes shift to Tulimaq, and she doesn't quite take his meaning. she needs bodies to train, after all. they have none of those—beyond the healer, who has shown so little affinity for violence that she's all but given up on his fighting future.

anyone will do, she says coolly, meeting his golden gaze. we will hhhrain. buhh' we needh more. hhlook for 'em.

she straightens further, rolling her shoulders back with a deep sigh. i will hhlook, she promises. an' mark border. an' hunhh'. we all muhhh work, or we. . . Avicus shakes her head, clucking her ragged tongue once, a sound that hits the frigid air like the crack of a whip. we muhhh'.

Ashlar nods again but remains silent, looking down again, this time from embarrassment. It's what he had meant when he said he could do it, but he hadn't said it right.

The man was intimidating. His stare cut through Ashlar like a hot knife, searing away any confidence he might have. He did not know why, but something about this was overwhelming.

He would try, but the best thing to do now was to let them plan. He didn't understand this talk of making warriors, but if it was about him, he had already tried and failed miserably at that. It was the one thing he thought he could never do, and if that was what she eventually decided she needed of him, he would probably disappoint. Maybe that was what intimidated him so much. He was looking at a wolf who was everything he was not and, uncomfortably, he knew this wolf was what she would like him to be.

I can start... he said softly, looking at her and not glancing at him. Ashlar didn't want to risk meeting his eyes. If he got approval he'd go begin to mark the borders now.

The way the girl responded told him all that he needed. She was oblivious to his meaning. The boy beside her, quailing at the very idea of warriors; or maybe it was the sight of Tulimaq. He noted how they could not match his eye and grimaced openly.

I can start... The boy was saying something, but Tulimaq cut him off. This will take time, but it will be done.

He turned then, ignorant of any dismissal and fully empowered by these orders. There was much work to be done if this was the wealda's command, and if they had no other option.

Exit Tuli!

there's some tension between the two males; natural, she thinks, for she cannot picture two wolves more opposed. well, no. . . Tulimaq is strong and steady but Ashlar is, too, under the right circumstances. just that the former is strong of body and the latter strong of mind.

and neither seem to harbor the bloodthirsty madness of the Ursus wolves—

she gives a brusque nod as the huntmaster moves away, then looks at Ashlar. i will go wi' you, Avicus says, and descends to his level, pointing her chin in the direction of one of their weaker sections of border before breaking into a brisk trot.

the mountains of the rise would keep intruders out, but as it flattened down into the plains. . .

they must be vigilant, always.

He was grateful that she would be coming with him, not the other man, but Ashlar glanced after the direction he had disappeared. He would need to meet him. Maybe if they were not in a gathering with more, and he spoke to him directly, they could meet on better terms.

He shook the wondering from his thoughts and bounded after her, closing the distance she'd gained and following eagerly alongside, just behind. Ashlar had never been responsible for something like reinforcing a boundary, but he did know how. He would split from her and help, strengthening the claim on the rise's slopes.