Duskfire Glacier The Future

backdated so it's set the morning after this.

Calida was almost fully healed. She no longer had any headaches, and the scabbed wound had stopped itching; she woke to see that some of it had shed off during the night. Grimacing, she shook herself, then exited her den. With more room to move, Calida scratched lightly at the back of her head, and found the wound was essentially gone. Delighted, Calida left the caverns and saw the sunrise staining the heavy clouds pink and gold. It was, frankly, breathtaking, and for the first time since joining the pack, she found she was going to miss the glacier itself once they moved.

After a short time, she called for @Lane - they had discussed her future briefly, but she'd had more time to mull it over. She still wanted to protect the pack, and she knew that meant a lot of training. Since her injury, she'd lost a lot of her muscle mass, and had been feeling much weaker. Now that she was better, she was ready to train. But beyond that, she wanted to help Lane; she knew her alpha was busy, and things were a bit unsteady, what with the loss of their food and the upcoming move... It had to be stressful.

Lane answered Calida's call swiftly, feeling a little guilty that she hadn't even realized that Calida was back in the Glacier territory. As much as it pained her to admit it, she had lost all track of her wolves' locations. At any given moment, she couldn't tell you who was inside the territory and who was out. There were some wolves she was pretty sure she hadn't seen since the funeral, or maybe even longer ago. Like Eldritch. Where that heck was Eldritch? 


"Hey Calida," Lane greeted the new recruit as she approached. "Welcome back. How was the trip?" She'd heard bits and pieces from Veteran, but she was interested to hear how Calida had liked her little trip. To be honest, she had halfway expected that Calida wouldn't come back at all, given all of the struggles in Duskfire Glacier right now. The theta's call had come as a welcome surprise.

Calida smiled, dipping her head to Lane in greeting. "I saw more land in the past couple of weeks than I've seen in my life," she chuckled a little. It had been quite a journey, but it had given her the time she needed to stretch her legs. "My headaches are finally gone," Calida continued brightly; she was in the best mood she'd been in, in... well, a while. "And now that I'm back, Tuuluuwaq owes me a spar." She smiled slightly, then stretched.

"And I met a man last night - a storyteller. I told him of Duskfire, and he seemed very keen on joining. I left him in a temporary den outside the borders." They had both agreed that waking Lane or Issorartuyok so late would be rude. "He's expecting us later, but... I wanted to talk to you more about my role in the pack first."

She took a deep breath, then explained, rambling a bit, "I know I want to fight - no question about that. I plan to train, soon. But... I also just want to help you. I know things have been crazy with the funeral, and the move... and I guess I just want to support you as best I can. I want to stay, as long as possible." Tuuluuwaq had told her that there was no debt, but a sense of honor and pride had begun to take over the young woman - this was something that she had to do for herself. She looked to Lane, anxiety bubbling up in her chest.

Calida seemed much better, and not just physically. Everything about her seemed to radiate energy and optimism. Lane was floored by how different she seemed from the nervous, shrinking woman she had met upon the taiga nearly three moons ago. 

Lane tilted her head in curiosity as a potential recruit was mentioned. A storyteller..? Lane didn't really have the patience for stories herself, but some of the other Duskfire wolves would no doubt appreciate such a talent. Veteran would probably talk his ear off, asking all of those bizarre questions questions of his (If plants are alive, why can't they move? Why can rabbits eat grass, but wolves can't? Where do clouds come from?). Lane was never half as curious about anything a Veteran was about everything. Lane wondered how he and Calida had gotten along on the trip. 

The conversation took another quick turn as Calida revisited a topic from the last time they had spoken. Lane remembered Calida's interested in the mercenary trade, but this talk about being in a more supportive role was new. Lane smiled. It sounded like Calida was adjusting well and becoming more invested in her life here. Lane also wouldn't turn down more help. 

"Calida, you have a home with me as long as you want one," Lane assured her, referring to her stated wish of wanting to stay as long as possible. Lane was glad to hear that Calida had changed her mind about leaving in the spring. "And I'll take whatever support you're offering." God knows she needed all the help she could get. 

"The thing is.. something happened while you were away," Lane started, her tone regretful. "Rivenwood, our allies, were attacked. We don't know why. I sent a party out to Rivenwood to offer reinforcements and aid.. but I haven't heard back from them." After a brief pause she added, "Tuuluuwaq is with them." The heaviness of the statement would hang between the two women, both of whom were close to the missing Tatkret.

It felt like she'd just been struck in the chest - it took her a few moments to process and understand fully what Lane had said. "I - I can go looking," she offered, getting to her paws - she'd go right now, if Lane would let her. "How long has it been? When were they supposed to be back?" She couldn't sit here and do nothing - her jade gaze burned as she met Lane's eyes. Maybe this would be her first test. She wasn't fully healed, but she was healed enough - she could fight, if she had to.

"I.. I don't know if that's a good idea," Lane faltered, responding to Calida offer to go searching. "Issorartuyok has already gone after them, and think Heda too, probably..." This was turning into the plot of a bad horror story, where one character after another left safety in an effort to locate all of the other missing characters, but no one ever returned.

"Tuuluuwaq went, and I told him to take Keyni, Kigipigak, and Ensio. Then Issorartuyok went, and I think Heda and Druid..." The Rivenwood sisters were both gone, she was fairly certain. "What do you think we should do?" she asked. The safety of others was hanging in the balance, and Lane didn't want to be solely in charge of this decision.

Can this count towards her Counselor trade? Or does she need to have her Mercenary trade started first?

It took everything she had to stop, calm herself, and listen to Lane; it was not that she disagreed with Lane - in fact, it was quite the opposite - but she was not yet used to collaborating, or having plans. It was proof of just how much she'd grown that she took a deep breath, and began to think, rather than act straightaway.

It was Calida, Lane, a few other adults, and several young ones. "No, you're... you're right. We can't have anyone else away..." She trailed off, debating her next words. Her first thoughts went to Iota, waiting at the borders. He was a storyteller - pups liked stories, right? They needed to make sure the young ones were being watched, and kept safe. Duskfire had suffered blow after blow after blow, and Calida reflected, somber. Wintersbane and Tzila's deaths, the loss of their food sources, having to move, and now, their allies had been attacked. The red woman swallowed, then exhaled slowly.

"One of us should get Iota," she would let Lane decide who, "We need to make sure the young ones are accounted for and kept occupied - I don't think they need to know about Rivenwood if we can help it..." But then what? Were they to just sit there and wait? She looked to Lane, uncertain.

Calida's agreement to stay brought Lane a small measure of comfort. She reminded Lane of Iota, and thank God she did, because Lane would probably have forgotten about him with how worried she was over the current crisis. 

"I'll speak with Iota, just point me in the right direction." Calida also mentioned keeping the raid at Rivenwood a secret from the children, and Lane sighed. "The cat's already out of the bag. An injured kid from Rivenwood managed to stumble her way here and faint on our border. It caused a pretty big commotion. That's actually how we found out about the raid." Trying to keep the kids from talking about everything would be like trying to stop a wildfire by spitting on it. 

"A storyteller might take their mind off of it, though." In light of all the trouble at Rivenwood, the kids could do with a story or two to remind them that good would always triumph over evil, and nice guys didn't always finish last.

yes, you can work on multiple trades simultaneously. this would absolutely count for counselor/advisor. ^^

sweet!! <3

Calida sighed heavily, then began to pace atop the glacier. So, the kids already knew - no point agonizing over it now. "I left Iota near the medicine den, just south of the borders." She stopped her pacing, then swung to face south, frowning. "What if I take you to him, then I can patrol afterwards?" It would see Iota accepted, it would get the kids occupied, and it would keep their borders secure. There was no telling what could happen next.

Lane nodded. It was a good plan. She appreciated Calida's dedication to her word and her commitment to follow through with the tasks for which she had taken responsibility-- in this instance, for seeing that Iota was attended. 

"Okay," Lane agreed with a wag of her tail. "Lead on." It was a small relief, the fact that she would at least know the whereabouts of Calida. It was a start. With Calida patrolling, perhaps together they would be able to cobble together some understanding of where the rest of the pack was and what they were doing. 

Lane would follow Calida's lead as they traversed the glacier at a decent clip. They would begin searching for Iota once they exited the Duskfire territory, but unfortunately he would prove to be as difficult to locate as the rest of the Duskfire wolves. Wouldn't you know it-- he was fitting in already. 

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