Redtail Rise gopher guts

A distant call sounded from the marshland. Tulimaq paused in his patrol to listen - recognizing it at once as Augur's voice, as they had each joined together in song at one point to unify themselves in claim of the Rise. It sounded as if it wavered on the wind.

He thought little of it, and continued to round upon the borders until he came across the bare bones of the white wolf, the one which he slew weeks ago. There were bits of flesh and hair clinging to the remains even now, but Tulimaq didn't care much about that.

He dug through them for the skull and hoisted it away easily, given that the neck was broken in many places. This was to be his trophy; he would keep this somewhere private to look upon as an ego-stroking ritual. He thought it was well deserved.

Ashlar had not planned to come back to the place where the stranger had been killed. It was the fasted way to get to where he was going, however, and he could not avoid the border forever. He did not like the scent of death that lingered.

Tulimaq was there. Ashlar's ears aligned back, with his crown, but outside of that he tried not to catch the man's eye or attention. He was simply passing through, worried at the call. It sounded urgent.

Are you going? He should at least ask that much, so they could go together if so. Ashlar hadn't noticed the skull yet.

The sound of the boy's voice, which did not hold its usual quaking quality, sprang to life from among the trees. Tulimaq had only recently pulled the skull free and placed it roughly against the earth.

He palmed it across the brow possessively and looked up.

It is only the quiet one, he remarked to Ashlar next.

As he huffs and turns his head, Tulimaq stares in the direction the call had originated. Considering. A few moments later he releases the skull and strides along the length of the border's edge, leaving his prize behind for now.

He keeps a pace that invites the boy to follow.

The quiet one. Ashlar called him that too, silently, and the echo of it from Tulimaq surprised him. They had nothing in common except maybe those words.

It sounds off. He said quietly, uncertain, but trying (and thankfully succeeding) at keeping his voice steady. He'd found that if he slowed down, the shaking did not take him.

He was so curious, and he wasn't being dismissed outright. This was maybe his first chance alone to ask. Were you a leader? Before? It could only be him that the woman knew as lead hunter. He commanded an easy confidence that was both intimidating and enviable - it made sense, if he was. But why follow now, then?

Tulimaq chuffed a small laugh. I have been a leader for years. He answered.

He watched the boy, studying him. Sizing him up yet again as if the conversation had changed something; but Tulimaq only noticed how certain the boy sounded now, versus the shaking of his voice before. Had the collection of souls here strengthened him, as the Rise came to be whole? Maybe. It was the case for some.

My people, the Tartok, are everywhere. We roam and we hunt. I have a band of my own where I am their leader — their sivullik. Which would probably lead to an obvious question that Tulimaq hoped to answer before the boy could think of it: My hunt led me here, and when Avicus made her first call for reinforcements, I was nearby.

He liked the sound of that even less. Ashlar was trusting, but he wasn't entirely naive. 'Have been a leader' implied that he still was and the words that came after confirmed it. But she leads you. He said it quietly, with a bit less confidence than before, but still slowly. Such a statement could be seen as impertinent or as a threat, but he felt the need to clarify it anyway.

Avicus loved what she had built here. What sort of a friend would he be if he allowed another to speak of leading it?

This boy was nothing like the anneriwok of his own people. He was frail of body and weak of mind, and seemed confused by what Tulimaq had stated. Perhaps he thought it impossible to be the master of others, yet have a master too.

Yes, she does. A glint in his eye. But I am not alone. And she wanted warriors - so when my people come, they will join us in her chosen battle. But they are mine, he insinuates, and she will be mine too.

Ashlar felt a feeling creep in that he has never experienced before. He did not know why, but something in the way this man looked at him, carried himself, spoke... Ashlar did not like him.

The bard had never been so biased against another wolf for so little reason. He didn't like it, and he would not let it drive him to treat this wolf as less than the friend he should be. They were packmates.

I'm glad. He said quietly. He was. They sounded like warriors, and if they were like him, then maybe few would be hurt in whatever fight they would have. Maybe it would be over quickly. Where are they now?

He gave a shrug of one shoulder, and it popped as he rolled it. I have a general idea, but they're mostly scattered. They are tasked with following the herds -- and the herds have left this place because of sickness, so, they're out there somewhere with them

His general was likely drilling the younger generation -- those of the Anneriwok that travelled with their hunting party -- and making them worthy of becoming warriors of Tartok. Tulimaq wondered about them sometimes, but often let his mind focus on the immediate tasks around the Rise instead.

He couldn't be everywhere.

They'll return to me eventually. He was confident in that, and a touch prideful, presuming they would assemble by the time Avicus was ready to go to war. His people would follow him in to battle and the red girl would find Tulimaq as the most valuable of investments.

Oh. Did he miss them? If they were his family?

Somehow Ashlar thought the question would not be welcomed. So it died on his tongue, as many did when he spoke with the hunter. He could tell that little he said would be valued or needed and that feeling, though it made him smaller, also lent him quiet contemplation. He wondered what it might be like, to so dismiss things? Ashlar did not think he would like it. It seemed a lonely life.

With nothing else to say, he fell silent, always a step behind the larger man. Eventually they would reach Avicus and learn what the call had meant.

wrap this here? And maybe they can have another soon <3