Redsand Canyon Demons

Alys had not stopped moving since she'd decided to leave the vale and head for Mereo. As she walked, she thought of how she could honor her lost mate - perhaps a name change? She toyed with one name as she crossed the sunspire and headed down for the redsand canyon; Khalys. She did not know who she was without him, so the name really seemed to fit, and now, some part of him would forever be with her. She shed a few more tears, then let out a soft call for Mereo's wolves, namely those she'd met - @Towhee, @Arsenio, and @Germanicus. She didn't know if this was the right decision, but it would be better than hovering in the vale with all of her memories.

he had been sparring, putting one or another of the soldiers through strict paces. and he had been contemplating the pending loss of his praefectus.

there had been rumblings in the north but it had ceased quickly. he thought it thunder. 

but now the eagle cut off his current task and strode straightforward to where the woman alys called again. kinfolk was becoming rather more in need of mereo, he thought with an objective and uncharitable turn of mind.

"lady alys," the imperator greeted, though to see her face something more had gone on. "how fares kinfolk?"

Germanicus was the first to appear, and when he greeted her, Khalys' ears fell back. Her throat tightened. "Kinfolk... Kinfolk is done," she told him faintly. Gesturing back towards the vale, she forced herself to tell what had happened, "The tunnel caved in... My mate is dead." She swallowed, her gaze hardening as she admitted, "And so are our children." Yellow eyes flickered to the Imperator. "I didn't know where else to go except here." Her emotions were a swirling mess in her chest, and she was struggling to hold onto them; though she shed no tears now, her face was drawn with tiredness and grief.

germanicus experienced an inward wince when alys spoke again. 

the diminutive woman before him had lost everything. and mereo had not been able to come to her aid. 

wishing fiercely that ruenna was here with him, germanicus motioned her over the border. "you were right to come here." the last time he had seen alys she had been visibly with child. he could not fathom the depths of her grief.

"i believe you should see our medicus first. she is skilled and will oversee your recovery." he would walk her to the tablinum, and there call for @Aquene.

Alys’ voice was familiar. Arsenio turned from his duties to hurry to the border. When he had arrived, the Roman already stood to greet her. The mercenary stood stiffly in the background. 

He did not hear of the tragedy that fell. Arsenio only sought to greet a familiar face. He waited to see if he would be needed by either of them. 

I guess he’ll just be a cameo unless he’s addressed. Ebony be worse at your job. ^w^

The stranger's call had already had him leaving his patrol and heading in that direction. But it was the imperator's call for his wife that put speed in his steps. Who knew what was happening on the borders; something potentially dangerous if Aquene had been summoned. He wasn't about to let her be there without his presence. He trusted the imperator to keep her safe, of course, but the driving need to protect was almost unbearable right now. He couldn't ignore it. 

When he arrived, he found Germanicus leading the kinfolk woman into the canyon. She didn't seem visibly harmed, at least not from a distance. So he wondered why his wife had been called. He paused near Arsenio and greeted him with a stiff nod. Then he trotted after the imperator; the scutarious assumed they were headed for the tablinum—so he was too.

Basing scent off a quick research for how long canines can pick up scents on others but let me know if it's not a conclusion you feel comfortable with me making and I can edit it!

Aquene heard the call and was immediately concerned. She did not know what had happened, so she grabbed a small bundle of emergency supplies that she kept for such an occasion. She would not know what she might need. She arrived shortly after her husband, looking the other woman up and down for a moment. It was the subtle things in her actions that gave it away. She looked exhausted. There was the faintest hints of death on her pelt, almost faded but distinct to a nose that had caught scent of it many times before. She did not appear harmed, but she had been through much. “You lost someone…” She trailed off, more a statement than a question as she moved closer. “Are you injured?” She asked softly.
 
Aquene had no idea how much she had been through just yet. Something was just off but the medicus could not place it at first. She looked to Germanicus for an explanation, or from the woman. Ideally, she would have liked to do the intake with less of an audience, but in that moment she was also glad that they were there. She had become so timid over the idea of being anywhere near the borders since finding out she herself was pregnant… she feared Dimitri might catch a scent and come back for vengeance over someone taking what he believed to be his.

germ out!

first arsenio and then kallik joined them as he escorted alys toward the tablinum.

there were too many men here for what the imperator must share. "principales. scutarius," he addressed the two others as the physician stepped forward. "will you inform the other soldiers that we have a new resident in mereo?"

he meant to send them away and inform them later.

whether or not they moved swiftly, germanicus cleared his throat. "this is alys," he introduced. "she and her mate were building an allied pack in the vale by the name of kinfolk and it was meant to be a home for their unborn. there was a caved tunnel. she has come to join us."

trusting that aquene would understand, the imperator stood stiffly alongside the pair of them. "i am going to inform the matrona." and to alys he gave something softer: "i am sorry for your tragedy. but you will be safe here."

with that he wheeled, massively uncomfortable and once more aware of how much suffering he could not comprehend.

his steps would take him directly to @Ruenna, where he would inform her of kinfolk's saddened end and alys' new place among the commoner ranks. and then he would seek the men again, ordering a patrol to the vale to assess the damage done to its details.

All good with me <3

Khalys followed Germanicus over the border on shaking legs, and when he mentioned medical attention, she nodded stiffly. She became distinctly aware of how battered she felt - but, rocks falling on you would do that to you - and she knew she had many cuts and scrapes. She didn't think anything was broken - physically, at least. She was glad when Arsenio joined them, less so when the other male did. She'd seen him before, but he'd never spoken to her. This affair was now all too public, but she supposed the rest of Mereo would know something had happened once they saw her here anyways.

When they arrived to the tablinum and met Aquene, Khalys was questioned. She answered wearily, "Many bruises, lumps and cuts. Nothing broken, I don't think..." Her thoughts turned to the dead whelps she'd birthed, and she realized she'd never gotten the chance to clean up; her hindquarters were stained with dried blood and birth, and she told Aquene, "I miscarried as well." These words were deadened, hollow. It was the only way she could get through it at the moment.

When she was introduced and her story told, Khalys corrected, "I've actually changed my name in honor of my mate. I'd like to be called Khalys. And... thank you, Germanicus." Her thanks were quiet, but sincere, and then she was left alone with just Aquene.

Kallik had no intention of leaving the stranger alone with his pregnant wife, even though he could she was likely no danger. It was too hard to override his protective nature where Aquene was concerned. 

He would, however, remain outside the tablinum to give them some privacy. He could tell the woman had been through something hard, and she likely wouldn't feel comfortable talking around him, since he was a stranger to her. 

If anything happened, he was just outside and could be inside the healing den in a matter of seconds.

forgot to add that kallik can be skipped unless addressed

Quickly her husband and friend were being sent away though later she would be aware of his presence just outside the den as her valiant protector, leaving Aquene with the woman and Imperator alone. Alys. Quickly the weight of the words weighed on her, realizing that her mate had not joined her, and that meant he had left the world too soon. Aquene was quick to usher her inside and offer her the privacy she deserved during this crying time. Her heart broke for the woman, especially upon hearing of a miscarriage as well. It was much stress to the body, and even more so to the mind.
 
Khalys. The name was quickly corrected and she nodded to show her understanding as she took it to heart. “I am sorry.” There were truly no words for such a situation other than sympathy, support, and an apology for all that she had to go through. “Would you be okay with my cleaning you up? I also have medicine to place on the cuts and bruises, and something for the physical pain.” She offered, leaving everything up to the woman’s choice. It was a far more delicate situation than telling soldiers to sit their ass down and take her healing. It required a little more tact and respect than that.
 
She quickly shuffled to the lavender, drawing out a stalk in the hopes it might offer some soothing relief, and help calm some of the internal pain she must be feeling. “Breathe in the scent from this plant for me, please, Khalys.”

Khalys appreciated Kallik leaving them some privacy. She didn't think he'd spoken a word to her yet, but that just made her think he was someone who would keep his silence, should he overhear the conversation between Aquene and Khalys. She wasn't really bothered - perhaps he was even guarding her from prying eyes and ears? As Aquene asked to treat her, Khalys nodded wearily.

When a stalk of lavender was offered, she inhaled the scent deeply, closing her eyes. She'd been thinking of lining the whelping den with lavender - it grew abundantly in the meadow of the vale. This made tears prick at her eyes once more, and she mumbled a swift apology while wiping them away with the back of a paw. "Thank you, I - this should help calm me, right?"

Kallik left them privacy and stood guard and she appreciated it. Khalys agreed to her treatments and she nodded at the following question. “Yes, it is meant to help calm herbs and ease grief, though even my remedies have their limitations and you have been through much.” She could not imagine what she had been through. In that moment she imagined losing Kallik and their children in one fell swoop and the pain was too much to consider that line of thought.
 
Physical pain was so much easier to treat than emotional pain. She knew that, but it was not going to stop her from trying. “It is okay to let it out. My den is a safe space for all emotions.” Except anger and rage, and even then it could be justified at times. “Part of the healing process is letting it all out.” She moved to take a moss ball from next to the pool, soaking it to take it and gently start to clean her fur off from the after effects of birth and the trauma she endured. Once that was done, she could assess other injuries.

Khalys nodded in understanding as Aquene explained that her treatments would have limits - she knew she'd been through more than others could bear, but for the time being, she was just numb. The accident wasn't even twenty-four hours past yet. As she took several deep inhales of the lavender, she told Aquene honestly, "I... just feel... numb. Like it hasn't really happened, but... I know it has," she shed a few more tears, then let out a shaking exhale as the medic began to clean her. Eventually, she murmured, "I didn't even name them. I just buried them as close to Kailoh as I could..." She wondered what they might have named them, had they survived. She choked back a fresh sob, then decided Aquene was probably right; she buried her head in her forelegs, quaking while her tears truly began to flow.

The woman admitted to feeling numb and Aquene nodded. It was common when faced with loss… even to those who did not experience as much loss as the woman in front of her. “It’s your brain’s way of trying to protect itself.” She explained softly. “You’re trying to process and so your brain has turned off your emotions for a time.” It was another reason that the healer would encourage her to let it out. She started to inhale the lavender and Aquene watched as the tears began… and it was the mention of burying her children and mate, something a woman should never need to do, that brought out the emotions once more.
 
Aquene settled by her side, hoping the body contact might give her an anchor, a controlled way to lose herself in her grief. She rested her chin atop the woman’s head. “Let it out… I will not say it is okay. What you have gone through is horrible, and painful, and it is not okay right now… but it is okay to not be okay. It is okay to grieve, to feel these emotions.” She felt tears prick her own eyes though she dared not let them fall.

When she met Kailoh, Khalys had never imagined her life would lead her down this path. It was quite frankly too much to process, and she was finally beginning to shut down, exhaustion heavy on her features. She settled her heavy head on her paws, letting out a slow exhale. How she was going to make it through the coming days, she had no idea. Looking to the medic, the young woman forced a smile, strained and tired. Still, she managed a weak, "Thank you," wondering when she would be able to sleep next. She didn't have much left in her.

I was hoping we could end with your next post? <3

Faded and archived!

There was thanks and the woman simply offered a kind smile and a nod. “Of course. I will be here to help you whenever you shall need it, for any reason.” That included the mental demons that came with the pain she had been forced to endure. She remained in the den to watch over the torn woman, only stepping out to speak with her husband. She would not return to their marital den that night, instead doing whatever she could to ease the woman’s pain and help her sleep.