Redsand Canyon is there somewhere.
Loner
NPC
60 Posts
Ooc — Stevie
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#1
All Welcome 
There was no description for the emotion that festered in her chest as she stood upon the sparring pits, staring at earth that had gone too long untouched. It was a hot burning, an unbearably cold aching, and an otherworldly numbness all in one. The pack was gone. Abandoned. Her home. Her people. And with it, what felt like her whole self. Gone. Without word, warning, or explanation.

Valiria felt her body trembling with equal parts fury and despair. She had gone in hopes of making peace with her mother for what Liri had always felt in her heart was abandonment. She had done so, made amends, rebuilt bridges. Liri was supposed to return home a more balanced soldier--no longer driven by her demons in the fight. And now, to come home to find everything she'd known had disappeared in her absence. Liri could scarcely believe the injustice of it. Abandoned again.

She feared for her family, feared to know the reason why for it could only have been due to tragedy, yes?

She raged at her family. Raged at their abandonment of the canyon. Raged at them for failing.

Tears sprang to her eyes, but they never fell. The shock of their appearance was enough to stop them. She was appalled by tears, disgusted by the idea of showing such weakness. She refused to mourn them until she knew what happened. She would wait to hate them, too. And so, Liri turned and set off to explore more of the abandoned canyon, intent on learning all she could.
31 Posts
Ooc — Ori
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#2
She grows stronger by the day, muscle rebirthed adjoining skin and bone. Prey is plentiful in the canyon and the land surround; she finds her belly is always full. No longer gripped by hunger, her mind also begins to heal as her body surges with new-found purpose.

Under the watchful eye of Ajaw and beast-woman, the Winak busies herself with pruning the borders. 

A scent, not Ajaw and not Holcan - she pauses - has she missed a spot? Ajaw would not be pleased.

Serpent-like, she slithers after the trail until a figure comes into view. She is white like ghost-woman, but oh so much smaller.

"One more step and Tikal will have your head," a jest, oblivious to her grievances. Ajaw is no cruel man yet she intends to stop the woman in her tracks all the same.
Loner
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Ooc — Stevie
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#3
Valiria's heart rose to her throat when she heard the sound of a stranger. There was nothing familiar in the voice, and upon seeing the woman's countenance, her hope was quickly replaced by a rising anger. Liri swallowed it down, but she could not entirely swallow her pride. Another wolf, a smarter one, would have lowered themselves, shifted into at least a neutral position. Valiria Redsand did no such thing. She stood her ground, her chin lifted as though daring the obviously larger wolf to go ahead and try it. Call it ignorance, call it inflated self-confidence. Regardless, Liri had no fear to show this stranger--a trespasser in her kingdom, as far as she was concerned.

Mereo is no more...

Disregarding the warning voice in her head, Liri frowned at the comment that was thrown at her. She did not know the word Tikal. Perhaps it was this woman's name? Or something else? Her head canted as she asked, her voice calm but wary, "Explain your words, else explain why you are here. You are not of Mereo."
Swiftcurrent Creek
Delta
The Shieldmaiden
274 Posts
Ooc — Liv
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#4
Sovereign too was making rounds
But...
It was the voices of two that drew her nearer from her inroads route, as the behemoth came to stand firmly beside the Wikan to face this intruder

Sovereign's gaze upon the pale girl was impassive as she stared at the stranger, deciding...
Should she call Ajaw, or one of the Holcan?

It would be best if she did, she mused...
Raising her head, she called calmly for @Sabah and @Kukulkaan with the message of another trespasser
The Only Thing They Fear Is You
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#5
She heard the call plainly, and wasted no time to heed it.

Approaching at a quick pace, Sabah sifted herself between both wikan and holcan-in-training

Shoulders tensed, her eyes were fixed solidly upon the stranger. Who this? She asked sharply, expecting an answer from either woman at her flanks.

  | 


· she follows and obeys only Kukulkaan, her ajaw and savior. only he is permitted to partake in any of her threads without first seeking permission, unless oocly stated otherwise.
· to her ajaw and fellow holcan, she will often be speaking yucatec mayan. it will be denoted as speech.

` ` the way of the warrior 
is resolute acceptance 
of death ` `

128 Posts
Ooc — delaney
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#6




ajaw arrives shortly after sabah.

this is tikal's land, speaks ajaw moving past sovereign, caro and sabah.

though those gathered have surely asked her questions, ajaw wonders how this one has slipped past.

it was very much abandoned when this one came upon it. not that conquering wasn't in their blood: it was and their own personal history was awash in blood and take-overs. this time, tikal's resettling was relatively calm.

ajaw, growing tired of these trespasses takes a deep breath; to ground themselves to this flesh and bone body, to the earth. to not let the fury and merciless of the feathered serpent wake.

this one asks you to retreat to the borders where this one will gladly speak with you, if you wish to. otherwise, kukulkaan thinks, she was welcome to take her leave.

kukulkaan & my writing are entirely experimental.
can be assumed he is speaking in yucatec mayan to his holcan; mayan will be denoted as speech. any of the holcan is welcome in all of ku's threads.
31 Posts
Ooc — Ori
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#7
skippable! and phone post soz

They arrive one by one again, slipping into formation beside her to face the white wolf. She is intrigued on how this woman will handle such a threat as Tikal, but her thoughts are quickly washed away and replaced by the presence of Sovereign and the voice of Sabah.

"She speaks of Mereo," she informs, before falling quiet and letting Ajaw and beast-woman take the lead.

She is unsure of the Mereo that this woman speaks of, but curiousity keeps her from straying just yet.
Loner
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60 Posts
Ooc — Stevie
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#8
Liri tensed as one by one, more and more wolves showed up. She held her position, not daring to shrink and show weakness in front of so many. She knew she was outnumbered, and she wasn't a fool—if they chose to fight, she would choose to flee. But not until they forced her to.

The final wolf to arrive struck her clearly as being their leader. His pronouncement as the land belonging to Tikal was still a mystery to her, but his next words stole the wind from her sails.

Abandoned.

Liri had to fight then to keep herself from visibly deflating. The Canyon had been abandoned, then. In the six weeks she had been gone, they had all left to be replaced by this strange man and his harem. Left her behind. Just like her mother had.

But no, she had moved on. She had moved on.

Without really even realizing it, Liri was walking away. She didn't know if the other wolves were following her. They didn't exist to her at all as her mind raced. Abandoned. Abandoned.

"Where did they go," she said quietly, almost to herself.
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#9
Ajaw came soon, just before Sabah was given the answers she wanted. 

But it mattered not—for Kukulkaan would learn of them and she would be there to listen.

He pushed to the front, and the holcan gestured for both Sovereign and Caro to step back with a quick flash of her teeth as he did so.

She too would remain back to observe, lest ajaw require her elsewhere.

  | 


· she follows and obeys only Kukulkaan, her ajaw and savior. only he is permitted to partake in any of her threads without first seeking permission, unless oocly stated otherwise.
· to her ajaw and fellow holcan, she will often be speaking yucatec mayan. it will be denoted as speech.

` ` the way of the warrior 
is resolute acceptance 
of death ` `

Swiftcurrent Creek
Delta
The Shieldmaiden
274 Posts
Ooc — Liv
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#10
Ajaw made his way to the front,
Sovereign was already moving back to allow himself and Sabah the spotlight by the time Sabah flashed her teeth. 

Her place was not yet with the Holcan, she knew this well. 

The yearling would still remain however, unless commanded to busy herself elsewhere.
The Only Thing They Fear Is You
128 Posts
Ooc — delaney
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#11




as the pale stranger begans to walk, ajaw follows: ensuring, mostly, that she leaves the canyon.

a small gesture of ajaw's chin, urges their wolves to follow.

she appears to be speaking to herself, but the pack name caro offers allows kukulkaan to put the haphazard puzzle pieces together. they would assume that this mereo inhabited the canyon before tikal claimed it.

this one does not know of any pack bearing that name, words that offered little comfort. a thought snakes into ajaw's mind then: a recent memory of the strange woman that came to tikal's borders irate that they had claimed the canyon.

but! the irate woman had not appeared to have known the canyon's prior inhabitants had gone. so, likely, she would be of no help either. this one is apologetic that this one cannot give you any information about their whereabouts. and ajaw means this in truth, because she is not irate at them but seems to be distressed ... or at the least, minimally troubled by not knowing where her mereo went.

ajaw was not a monster ...well, not always ( though there was plenty of wolves from their past that might have a different opinion ).

kukulkaan & my writing are entirely experimental.
can be assumed he is speaking in yucatec mayan to his holcan; mayan will be denoted as speech. any of the holcan is welcome in all of ku's threads.
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#12
Sabah follows after closely when ajaw instructs them so.

The wolf that came upon them attempts to leave without, but is still met with answers.

Of all, the holcan is most curious to know whether this stranger will turn back or continue walking.

  | 


· she follows and obeys only Kukulkaan, her ajaw and savior. only he is permitted to partake in any of her threads without first seeking permission, unless oocly stated otherwise.
· to her ajaw and fellow holcan, she will often be speaking yucatec mayan. it will be denoted as speech.

` ` the way of the warrior 
is resolute acceptance 
of death ` `

Loner
NPC
60 Posts
Ooc — Stevie
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#13
Liri was surprised to hear an answer to her. She turned her head to see the pack following her. Her irritation at this grew, but she swallowed it whole. Now was not the time to allow her pride to take control, much as she wanted to. She felt sad. Empty. It would be nice to fill that emptiness with something—anger, violence. Battle.

But, she wasn't about to let herself get killed over nothing. If she was going to die in a fight, it was going to be worth something. It wasn't going to be over a piece of land her so-called family didn't even want.

She flicked an ear in the big male's direction at his apology. "It's not important," Liri said dully. She glanced around then at all the wolves following her. "You don't need to exert yourselves," Liri said, trying to bring strength back into her voice with a lift of her head and squaring of her shoulders, "You'll get no trouble from me."
Swiftcurrent Creek
Delta
The Shieldmaiden
274 Posts
Ooc — Liv
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#14
Ajaw instructs them all to move with him.
Sovereign prowls forward immediately, keeping her eyes on a constant scan for more unwelcome parties, but always returning to her Lord and the trespassing girl.

The yearling was quiet the entire time, allowing for uninterrupted communication between her Ajaw and the girl who had been speaking of this...Mereo. 
Sovereign didn't know of it of course, but it seemed that this pack the girl spoke of had been quite known of, and maybe that explained the constant surplus of unwanted attentions?

The pale behemoth kept her thoughts to herself for now, especially because she figured that her Lord already came to this conclusion himself.
The Only Thing They Fear Is You
128 Posts
Ooc — delaney
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#15




tikal's small show of force is excessive, ajaw feels ... but they are reluctant to send the others away. not because they feel it is necessary but because of the unwanted trespass.

the dull words the escorted stranger offers draws a frown upon ajaw's lips. they would disagree! it seems to be very important to her ... but they are not interested enough to press.

tikal cannot offer her whereabouts of her family and she seems disinterested in ajaw's words of condolences.

but you are not the only one who has come to the canyon looking for this ... mereo. ajaw tells her. perhaps you are not trouble to us ... but the others that have came before and may come in the future might be.

kukulkaan & my writing are entirely experimental.
can be assumed he is speaking in yucatec mayan to his holcan; mayan will be denoted as speech. any of the holcan is welcome in all of ku's threads.
Loner
NPC
60 Posts
Ooc — Stevie
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#16
His comment was unexpected, but caught her attention. She grabbed onto it, turning her head to look eagerly at him.

"Others have asked about Mereo? Did you get their names?" she asked, wondering if perhaps there might be some clue there about what had happened to her family.

In the end, her trip to the canyon yielded her nothing. The wolves who had overtaken her home were of no use to her, though she was grateful at least to be leaving with her life.