Wheeling Gull Isle that black dress got your boy seein' red

rhaegal dwells in the warm sunshine of the morning in stavanger bay, soaking up the buttery beams as they dance across his back, warming the sand under him.

it was only replaying one of his latest conversations with @Vairë that he found her to let her know his intentions for the afternoon, before he heads towards the island @Caracal had told them about.

the push and pull of the tide as rhaegal made the swim — though had walked most of the way upon the sandbar — was strangely comforting; and when he lets the waves carry him to the shore of the isle, he gives his coat a fierce shake before tipping his head back to let out a howl for Caracal or @Heda, announcing his presence.

caracal, vesper, kigi — kilgitsuk, slavuj.
herself.
contemplatively heda placed a paw upon her unchanged belly. aside from the onset of extra sleepiness and the annoying sickness, she was unchanged. and there was nothing truly yet to say that anything would.
she had still not quite connected the joyous dancing between herself and caracal as the catalyst for dancing.
it was a man who called. heda hesitated, and then drifted down from the greenhills to approach. he smelled strongly of the sea, which satisfied her; the young woman waved her plume once. "welcome to sweetharbor!" she called, and it was.

the young woman that comes to greet rhaegal calls this place sweetharbor.

sweetharbor, eh? rhaegal asks, the sveijarn patriarch offering a friendly wag of his tail. i met a young lad, caracal. he told me and i wife that he lived here with a ... heda? would that be ye?

rhaegal hesitates over the name and question, unsure if that was who he was speaking to; knowing he would be speared with a small wave of embarrassment if he'd guessed wrong.

despite that his initial intention of asking the young pair if they were interested in settling with he and his wife was dashed, but!

rhaegal saw no point in burning any more bridges than he'd already done prior to getting married.

`m rhaegal. rhaegal sveijarn. he offers in introduction.

"that would be me," heda affirmed with a curve to her mouth. she liked that caracal had been out and about, speaking of sweetharbor, and enjoyed greatly that they had received visitors for it.
"would you like to come in, rhaegal?" she said, stepping back. "it's just caracal and i here. for now," heda added, a flush highlighting her cheekbone a moment. "sweetharbor is meant to be a place where even god rests."

his assumption was right: he had the fortune of coming across heda.

aye, he agrees after a moment, not wanting to turn down her hospitality while it's offered to him; quiet as she speaks of the vision for sweetharbor.

rhaegal himself was probably more agnostic than he was anything else: the islands had been big on worship of the sea and moon; even if he, himself had never necessarily conscribed.

if ye dinnae mind me askin' ... ye'r religious? asked upon quiet tones that tried to communicate: it was an invitation and she didn't have to explain or answer if she didn't wish to.

"if you mean, do i worship a god, do i pray, yes i do, rhaegal," heda said kindly, conversationally, as she led him up the gently sloping beach. "but if you mean do i try to make others think as i do, no. how exhausting."
her laugh was true and lilting. "are you alone?" heda asked politely. she did not think he was, but would not assume until rhaegal had spoken.

she answers him readily enough that she does, in fact, worship a god. it really hadn't been his business or place to ask but it's good to know, he supposes, that sweetharbor wasn't religious based.

but because the sveijarn doesn't know what to say on the whole topic of god ... he is thoughtfully quiet until she poses her question.

alone? nae. me wife, vairë and i ... we've got a home in the bay, he gestures in stavanger's direction with his muzzle over his shoulder. saltshore, she wants tae call it. though since it consisted of just the two of them it wasn't much.

he and his wife. heda's face was sweetly serene. "i would love to meet her, one day," she told rhaegal with a soft look. "perhaps caracal and i can make the visit. where did you say it was?"
she led their guest into the greening richness of the high hills, looking around for her husband's form.

or we could come tae ya. rhaegal offers. though ... me wife has nae gotten her sealegs yet. rhaegal says with a low, fond chuckle. but he does not doubt that his doe-wife would learn to lean against the waves and how to avoid them overpowering her.

rhaegal was a fan of diving into and under powerful waves but he did not harbor any fear of the sea.

the bay. he tells her, gesturing in it's general direction.

either way, rhaegal supposed it wasn't too terribly far. i dinnae ken if the bay has a name in these wilds. he tells her sheepishly.

"isn't that the pleasure of claiming a place?" heda grinned with a bright expression. "you can name it anything you want!" 
to sealegs; she laughed softly. "it took me months, if i'm being honest. but she'll get them. in the meantime, i don't mind the swimming."
but heda would not press further. "what sort of place do you want it to be? have you decided?"

aye, that be true. rhaegal murmurs in quiet agreement.

aye, i had the advantage of bein' born on an island on tae sea, mountains made rhaegal uncomfortable: he imagined the instability he felt attempting to climb was much like a non-sea wolf trying to find their sealegs. i was born with sealegs.

hmm, rhaegal drawls; contemplative. a safe place for us tae raise our bairns. ...if we have any this year. which, was mostly a very small, very limited picture. a safe port for the weary traveler, i suppose. they can stay, join the crew if they want tae but they can come and go.

though meares island had been strict, it was also a bustling port in it's own right. sometimes stragglers stayed and sometimes they didn't: it was a part of life that rhaegal learned not to take personally a long time ago.

heda was curious. rhaegal seemed as though he wanted to become a father, and hesitant at the same time. careful, as one who walked beside the sea must always be. it endeared him to her, and heda found herself enjoying his company even more.
"well, let's talk allyship," the sweetharbor wolf smiled. "we'll both be by the sea, but you'll be on the mainland. what can we trade between us?" her golden eyes danced at the thought of it all.

allyship.

the idea appeals to rhaegal even if he feels a little bad considering saltshore was just him and his doewife for the moment.

but he is not one to turn away opportunity.

the sveijarn takes a moment to consider what they can offer her and her's. hmm, he drawls. well, we have better access tae venison. could be we could trade ya meat and furs?

"that would be good. i have several types of flowers and even some herbs growing on the island, along with all kinds of seafood. and if you're ever threatened or injured, you can come right to us," heda decided, thinking of how she had always intended sweetharbor to be a place of peace and healing.