Redsand Canyon Tether

When she wakes, she is underground. There is no light. The air is... Clean, which is a surprise. There are many scents.

The tight feeling in her chest is disorienting. She alights upon her paws and coughs a sharp, high noise as if newly bitten; turning to the affronted limb.

Her hock: covered in dry blood and wrapped in weeds, or some such thing. Aiofe sets upon the dressing with her teeth until she is free.

"she is here, lady @Ruenna."

he had told her of the stranger and the decision to see if she might be of service. aquene had been apprised of her condition.

at the entrance to the narrow room, which led down into the dark, the imperator changed shifts with arsenio. he turned to his wife. "she does not speak."

he almost wished he had simply dumped the stranger in the snow. his yellowpaint eyes were watchful as he summoned their guest with a commanding chuff.

Ruenna trailed her husband almost wearily as he led her to yet another charity case. Rue had not expected Germanicus to present her with so many lost-cause women right off the bat, but then again, was this not the manifestation of the very argument that Ruenna had originally made for the presence of civilian infrastructure? Hadn't she told Germanicus that there would be a need for a sanctuary as well as a barracks, in a military outpost? 

"Does she understand Common?" Ruenna asked, her honey eyes landing on the diminutive woman. Perhaps she was deaf. Hello, are you okay? Ruenna signed in ptero, wondering if the sign language she had learned from the Redhawks could be of use here. 

She had removed her bandage. Oh, stars.. was she simple, as well as dumb? What was Ruenna going to do with her? While a soldier might be convinced to take a dumb woman as a wife (many of the soldiers seemed to prefer silence to chatter, anyway) it seemed unlikely that a simple woman could be of any use to a husband.

The sound of others, although distant, causes the woman to pause. Her ears spin before the rest of her does. There is a chuff; she answers with a plaintive whine, scuttling towards the entry on her belly. Low, low, low.

There is another woman and she motions something at Aiofe who follows with her eyes, but does not understand. Is she going to be free soon? She reaches in to the woman's personal space to lick the corner of her mouth, nip her chin, and then flattens herself to the dirt again.

"she understood nothing when arsenio and i found her."

there was a minute curiosity in the eagle's face as he watched ruenna make unknown gestures with her paw. if he did not know her he might have suspected it to be heathenry of some sort.

it was fortunate that both he and her were pragmatic sorts. he no more harboured suspicions that she followed secret gods than he would have thought that of himself. 

in this moment the imperator wished to tell his wife that he had wanted to leave the woman outside the mountains. "if it seems as though she will not be of use here, then i will arrange an escort for her for half a day's journey away from mereo."

and if she returned after that — the eagle was unwilling to consider further mercy for a trespasser.

The woman showed no sign of recognizing Ruenna's rudimentary ptero. The matrona knew it had been a long shot. 

The woman responded with universal gestures of submission and begging. "She's hungry," Ruenna noted, her gaze softening. Her kind heart went out to the woman. Had this been Redhawk Caldera, Ruenna would not have thought twice about taking her under her wing. ..But hadn't that line of thinking been directly responsible for her former pack's undoing? Redhawk Caldera had disbanded because despite having many members, there was not a single entirely able-bodied, adult wolf among them. There had been far more hungry mouths than capable hunters, in the end. 

"If that injury was inflicted by Mereo, I would like to see her healed before she goes." Malila could use a practice patient. "I wonder..." Ruenna fell quiet for a moment, contemplating. "She's submissive and seems eager. I wonder if Akashingo would..?" Ruenna let the thought drop without finishing it, reminding herself that a woman who could not understand language could not very well provide informed consent to enter into the sort of service Ramesses would desire. 

Ruenna shook her head. "Never mind. I just.. Crowfeather is often on my mind, and.." Again, Ruenna fell silent, this time apologetically. Crowfeather had not been mentioned at all (before this moment) between she and Germanicus, and Ruenna felt the boy had almost become the elephant in the room. Ruenna thought often about how the boy's release to them might be negotiated, but before anything could be done about him it would need to be confirmed that Germanicus wanted custody of his former protege. She did not know how things had been left between the pair. 

In alluding to the possibility of a trade, Ruenna did not know how closely she pressed against the ugly truth about Tamar's release. That was yet another topic that was avoided, shrouded in silence.

The woman was more kind than the man. No food was brought forth however, even with the girl groveling. She pulled away from the two of them and circling, made a bed of the floor.

Their interest in one-another frustrated Aiofe. Soon she was murmuring back at them with pinched whines and yowls, a mimicry of their conversation. With a huff she quieted after and lay against the floor, curled so she faced away from them.

The injured hock was left extended awkwardly since she could not lay with it.

germanicus heard the shift in lady ruenna's voice. this one might well be kept in mereo. "it was," he said of the woman's injury. the matrona continued to speak and he was surprised to hear the implication that akashingo might take her. it was along the line of his own thinking.

what germanicus had not expected was her mention of crowfeather.

did she intend a trade? or had she? he watched his wife shake her head.

he thought of belen.

"it was to avoid pharaoh that arsenio suggested she be brought here," germanicus said quietly. "it would be more fitting that she be taken the palace." a distraction. "i do not believe crowfeather's situation is dire. it is only that his injury is grave. it will be spring before he is able to walk."

two seasons wasted in the mesa. the eagle hoped that his pulse would subside. speaking the young ranger's name aloud had been necessary. but the sound felt odd and disingenuous. "i had considered making a trip there myself to see him." but now there was the matter of this stranger. she was not a prisoner. but he did not know where she might fit. "we might feed her and show her she may leave this room when she is able to stand." germanicus was rather out of his depth and discomfited by the memories now swimming in his mind.

Before she answered, Ruenna peeked outside the chamber to make certain that Arsenio was truly gone. 

"Arsenio is blinded by his grudge," Ruenna stated, recalling what Tamar had divulged to her about the bad blood between Arsenio and Ramesses. It seemed likely that he only wished to keep a diverting plaything from Ramesses. But no matter Arsenio's motivation, his advice was not wrong. It would be cruel to send the woman to Akashingo, when she was unable to understand enough language to consent to the terms of the services that would be required of her. 

Germanicus's words seemed to indicate that he did not believe Crowfeather was in need of a plot for extrication. That was a relief. Ruenna nodded. It was her desire for Crowfeather to be treated in Mereo as opposed to Akashingo-- especially now that Aquene was here-- but of course transportation would be an issue if Crowfeather still struggled to walk. It was good that Germanicus planned a trip to visit his former protege. He could assess the situation for himself, and determine whether Crowfeather was healed enough to come to Mereo, where he belonged. 

"Yes, that's a good plan," Ruenna confirmed of Germanicus's suggestion for the mute woman. "Would you mind tracking down some food for her? I want to stay for a few minutes and see if I can earn her trust." Germanicus's presence was likely fairly intimidating, and Ruenna thought she would make more progress if she was alone with the woman. 

When Germanicus was gone, Ruenna would whine in a low, crooning voice to the woman, swinging her tail eagerly. She hoped that she might be seen as friendly or even motherly, and that her universal invitation might encourage the woman to accept her approach.

The pair spoke for a long time. When silence came after Aiofe spared a shy glance to the woman but did not move. The woman crooned to her after.

Aiofe heard movement and looked to see the woman offering another invitation. She remained skeptical but still, reaching, to gather scents from the woman's coat, until she began to shuffle along the earth and draw closer.

that ruenna was perceptive had not escaped germanicus. it was her level of knowledge which surprised him. arsenio indeed nursed a hatred for the pharaoh that outweighted even the eagle's own dislike. "one day it may come to a clash." he did not think that the greek would attack the royal outright. but his loyalty was to tamar.

the soldier would withdraw to a nearby cache. with hope and time, perhaps the mute woman might show some signs of understanding. and in the interim he would consider plans to make his way to akashingo

the thought of being once more beneath the mesa did not stir loathing within him. it was only discomfort. he would be before the shadow and would explain thus what had transpired. 

would pain enter the young wolf's eyes to know the imperator was married? germanicus did not know if he wanted to stomach this. and so he traveled sharply onward, thinking only of the rock pigeon he would return with to feed their unexpected guest.

One day it may come to a clash. 

Ruenna dipped her muzzle gravely. Tamar had voiced a similar concern. Ruenna wondered how long this uneasy truce between Akashingo and Mereo would last, when there were none among their numbers who felt an inkling of goodwill for Ramesses. 

Ruenna was not even sure if a clash would be a bad thing. The ambassador part of her was horrified by the thought, but the part of her that was a general's wife had to concede that this was the way of things. Where there were soldiers, there would need to be a battle. Perhaps this was a worthy one. 

When Germanicus was gone, Ruenna would turn her full attention to the mute woman. 

Although she was hesitant, she did draw closer. Ruenna would encourage her with a awagging tail. If the woman drew close enough to be touched, Ruenna would reach out to place some comforting licks on her head, as a mother might do for a child. She wanted to communicate to the woman that she could be safe here. When food materialized, Ruenna would eat with the woman. Once they were finished, Ruenna would exit the room, leaving her behind.

The woman was free to follow her if she was able, or to stay behind if her wound was too severe to allow for movement. Or she could simply take off, bolting her way out of the canyon and beyond. She would be cared for in Mereo if she so desired, but she was not a captive here.

Let me know if you want to have Aiofe hang around for a bit, and I'll title her as a member of Mereo.