Dragoncrest Cliffs Hello Neighbor

Mostly for @Chacal and @Mireille , but anyone is welcome. He is as far away from the borders as possible while still being able to be heard. He is trying to be respectful and mannerly. Please let @Heph reply first :)

Upon broad shoulders was caribou skin, and a haunch of deer leg. He went towards the Sapphique borders and didn't cross. He stopped as far away as he could while still being heard and he lifted his nose in a gentle inquiry.

It was unfair to live within close proximity and not meet and greet his neighbors. Heph had visited the ones upon the other cliffs, but he hadn't gone not yet. He had seen Njord and Meerkat, but both were not here and he felt that perhaps there was something unsaid there. So he chose to ignore the fact that he knew them when he would greet the she wolves of Sapphique.

Heph followed Rodyn companionably, she was excited to meet these wolves that she had heard of and was carrying the skin of a doe on her back. She stopped alongside him just outside the borders but did not add her own voice to the call of their presence.

However, she did peer deeper into the territory, cataloging the things around her as she had the rest of the journey and considering them. It was not unlikely that she would meet wolves from Sapphique again so she wanted to be sure of how to find her way to their territory and see what she could of the land from where she stood. 

The next five days are going to be pretty busy for me, so if I'm holding up the thread please feel free to skip me!

a man. 
a woman.
if it were not for the second, the first would find himself unwelcome. mireille this day however made herself amiable, if not somewhat aloof.
"dis be sapphique." he was a placid, large creature with kind sunlight eyes. 
"i be mireille, its obsidian."
she was a pretty gradient of moon and night, her eyes the hue of bark beneath a canopy. by way of her femininity, mireille's eyes lingered on her longer.
"what can i do for you?" to them both now, the scarlet wolf straightening to her full height.

Chacal too moved to answer the summon, though she felt inconvenienced for being asked for an audience this far from the borders. She left her youngest in the care of her older children, and made her way toward the borders and then past them, toward where Mireille trod toward the newcomers.

Quietly, Chacal moved to her sister’s side, noting the wolves that had come to them, her gaze lingering upon the items they had brought with them. They likely lived inland, she thought, to bring with them the pelts belonging to a caribou and a deer.

Mireille introduced herself and as she did, Chacal flicked her tongue over her nose so she could enhance her sense of smell. The pelts had the effect of masking their scents slightly, though there was a hint of something familiar as well. 

She eyed them silently, skeptical. Mireille seemed in a fine mood- but Chacal was not quite so sunny in disposition.

It seemed that in trying to be polite and not be too close to their borders he had made them walk to far, if their general apathy was anything to go by or it may have just been the fact he was a man. He had heard the rumors, which was unfair he felt, but there was no judgement every pack was different and it was why he brought Heph.

He dipped his head, averting his gaze from both of them and then he spoke. Voice polite and kind as it always was.

Hello. My name is Rodyn Ardeth this is my friend and packmate Heph. We are of the village Moontide. I don't know if you've ever heard of Moonspear or Moonglow, but they are our sister packs in the Great Bear Wilderness. We have settled on Ocean's Breath Plateau.

He shifted and pressed a paw to the items in front of him. I'm not of the sea, but my bride to be is. I brought you gifts, and to share the news that we were near. We are a peaceful village, traders and hunters mostly. I felt it unfair to settle and not at least let our neighbors know.

The he grew quiet and waited, patiently. No mention of Meerkat or Njord, they had both seemed harried the last time he had seen them and he felt it was not in good faith in case of.

Heph followed Rodyn's lead and tipped her own head in greeting and kept her gaze slightly offset from their faces although she found the two figures intriguing. She shifted her own pelt in front of her and offered her gift alongside and offered a smile. "It is good to meet you." She added, voice warm and bright. While she noted the silent penetrating gaze she felt confident in their suit, while it might not be well accepted she was not afraid.

the two introduced themselves as rodyn and heph. her eyes moved between them as she listened, though chacal's mood was absent her usual cool invitation.
in fact, her sister seemed downright thorny in comparision.
"i know moonglow and de woman of de moon, kukutux. she taught me how to skin and cure caribou skins one winter." sister packs. so they had spread from moonglow into moonspear and this place, moontide.
she found she liked the sound of it, and the idea took root in her own mind for sapphique; one day.
"it be good to meet you also. do you seek an alliance or are you only makin' us known of your arrival?" her voice was smooth.

She had hoped the woman might take the role of ambassador for herself- but the man was the one who stepped forward to speak the most. 

It seemed the wolves of Moonglow thrived; Chacal thought this might please Mireille, who would know them better than Chacal might. She wished that their own reputation had spread a bit further- beyond the motherpack and to its two new additions, but at least these two wolves had known to come to them with gifts, and formal words. She could appreciate that much from them. 

Her brow smoothed and she gave the one called Heph a faint smile as she was introduced, and greeted them. She turned to Rodyn.

”Marrying a woman from de sea,
Will give you a life rich an’ full of prosperity.” 

At least he’d made a good choice, she thought. 

The hint of familiar scent still nagged her- who was it that she thought she was smelling? It wasn’t familiar enough…Not quite. And the pelts still masked some of their scent. 

”I be Chacal, Tanzanite of Sapphique;
We are ‘appy for good neighbours, if day be what you seek.
Where is it, that you ‘ave decided to lay your claim?” She asked then. 

After all- they already had one close neighbour; she hoped that the wolves of Moontide had not chosen to settle too close, or their resources might become competition.

A soft smile to both and he tilted his ears forward to the one that spoke first. Thinking through her questions.

Allyship would be ideal, but I don't expect that immediately. I would think you'd want to get to know us and our pack better. But we are always willing to make allies. We trade our furs, food, hunting prowess. We often have group hunts with other packs, when moonglow arrives come Autumn we have a giant hunt for caribou and cure many furs. We have a young wolf Mojag, who spent time on an island nearby. he is teaching us of the sea. We are always willing to learn more of the sea. Especially since most of us are new to it.

He shifted his weight just to be more comfortable, but kept his body neutral still. It is lovely to meet you both by the way.

A soft smile lit up his face and he nodded to Chacal. You aren't wrong. I'm a very lucky man that Samani chose me.

A small tilt to his ear and he nodded. We are at Ocean Breath's Plateau. It is a little further away, land where there is forest at our back and sea at our front. Near the bay, the plains and the moors.

He turned his head and pointed back the way they came. If you'd like to see where it is. I or Heph can bring you to the borders sometime. She wishes to become trader and ambassador. So you would probably see her more than me.

he offered his friend a genial smile.

It seemed they would be greeted amiably after all and Heph was glad for it. She listened intently to their words, not because any one of them was particularly weighty but out of a kind of broad interest. The second wolf had a lyrical way of speaking that reminded her of song despite the plain conversation. Her ears flickered briefly thataway to better hear, as if the wind may have warped these words. Heph returned Rodyn's smile and nodded her head in assent "I ccould also stay nearby for a few days if you would like to see our territory soon and return there with when whoever would like to see is ready." The offer was easy for her to make as it would offer her time to explore this area of the coast, but she did not know whether they would actually wish to make the journey themselves or anyone else they might send. She could just as easily linger on her own directive in bordering territories to explore before heading back.

the man was helpful. mireille chose to check her initial uncharitable view of him, listening to the great wealth of information he volunteered. they seemed well-set, with inclination toward both land and sea. 
"i would like to go," she said, glancing toward her sister and then proffering a wry smile of intrigue toward heph. "it will give us a chance to know one ano'ter." perhaps there was a barest hint of suggestion there; mireille's tasting of things beyond sapphique had returned her home worldly and curious.
"what does allyship mean to you?" the obsidian at last asked, this question meant for both of the moontide wolves, her tone warm and curious.

The man was well-spoken, and it seemed perhaps Chacal had judged him too quickly. While she would have preferred the ambassador-in-training to take the lead, she understood perhaps she was learning from this experience from the man who obviously had a knack for diplomacy. 

The idea of collaborative hunting appealed to her, considering the fact that the wolves of Sapphique did not normally rely on caribou as a food source. It seemed they might benefit from an alliance, considering the fact that they each depended on different resources. 

The wolves of the sea might be able to aid the wolves of the plains and mountains. She was agreeable with the thought. 

The humble man offered an invitation, though Chacal knew she would not be able to go herself, not with young children. Mireille, though, seemed keen- and prompted a nod and a light smile from her sister. She trusted that Mireille would be safe- and that she could make a good judgement of the place.

She tilted her ears toward the pair, then, wondering what it was they might expect from Sapphique.

Rodyn had no intention of making anyone upset with their presence. No he wanted allies and friends. It made for stronger bonds, stronger packs. There could even be matimony at some point with other's. He didn't think Sapphique was that kind of pack, but his mother in law would find it out if she visited. He thought of her fondly. He was lucky to be marrying into a good family.

Rodyn blinked and then nodded. It means that we help each other when we are needed, build bonds of friendship and family. Every pack and wolf have their own strengths and we use our strengths to help those we ally with and they help us with our weaknesses where they are strong and we aren't. Equality and kindness, manners and respect. And Trade.

She nodded in response to Mireille, she was correct that it would be a good opportunity for her to ask any more questions that she might have of Heph or Moontide more generally as well a way for them to simply get to know one another. While friendships between packs were good she felt that if they lacked any personal relationships it could be difficult to find ground on which to build larger alliances.

Heph considered and added her own voice, while this was a difficult question for her to answer she did wish to give her own account of it. "Being able to call upon each other's borders for trade, help, and what is needed." Though it would take packs being very close indeed for other wolves to wander freely on each other's lands she felt that allies should at least be able to approach borders respectfully and feel certain that they would be heard out. She considered slightly. While much of trade as wolves established trust was based upon immediate mutual beneficence she felt that longstanding allies did not need to fall under the same strictures. "In trade it means that not everything needs to be immediately repaid." When enough debt accumulated on both sides then the details became less important, at least in a way.

rodyn and heph both spoke and mireille nodded. it seemed that nothing would be demanded or immediately expected of sapphique, which she appreciated. but she was not yet ready give entry, and did not think chacal would be either, not with the children so new.
"we should come toget'er again in de summer," she suggested. "to plan a true hunt." in the meantime, she supposed she could gather shells and dried kelp, perhaps ask around if there was anything else to be contributed.
attention now, for chacal.

Please feel free to send me a PM or ping me on Discord if I get this far behind again <3

It seemed that they did not want a promise of duty, or an exchange of services- but the opportunity to do so in the future. A welcome, rather than interrogation, should one of them come again, and the opportunity to share resources should one have, and the other need. This seemed fair enough to Chacal, who felt the seashore had plenty of resources that they could spare without having to put a great deal of effort into hunting. Perhaps the wolves of Moontide would not ask much of them- but a pack hunt would be mutually beneficial. 

"I agree; per'aps once de fawns 'ave been born, 
we can' hunt before de bucks sharpen deir antlers once more."

There would be a period of time in the summer, before the fall rut, where the herds of deer would have growing fawns with them, which might slow them down- and the bucks' antlers would still be growing, or covered in velvet.

Rodyn smiled and nodded his head. Very well. Thank you for speaking with us and I think a hunt will be great. And please when you're feeling up to it, come to moontide. I am sure Samani would love to meet you. And Heph and I are always willing to speak with friends and future allies.

He shifted and looked to Heph in case she had anything she wanted to add. He would not keep her from speaking. His dear friend. He loved that she was willing to learn to be ambassador and she had done so well already.

Heph nodded her head, glad that what Moontide offered seemed to be well received at the moment. While it was too soon for something solid she thought this was good grounds. She was impressed by how Rodyn had handled the situation, and she felt that she was on her way to learning how to fill this new role well for the pack. "Thank you, it's been a pleasure." Her voice was warm, and to reiterate her own point on it she added, tone becoming a bit brighter at the prospect of a hunt. "And I look forward to a hunt."

last for me! <3

"it was good to meet you," mireille said quietly. the wolves of moontide had satisfied her with their skills, their offerings, their kindness.
in many years past, sapphique had remained insular. perhaps it was best to accept these friendships where they arrived.
"heph, i will be findin' you," mireille said with a laugh, green gaze exuberant despite the regality she tried to project.
the sea-cliffs, protected.

She couldn't help but wonder just how vast the Moonwolf empire would grow, unchecked. If they gathered allies everywhere they went, would it mean peace, or would it mean that some smaller packs would eventually be controlled by the needs of the empire? She was keen to know more, but more interested to know how Sapphique would fare if it simply remained friendly and kept to itself. 

Still- another pack that would willingly collaborate for hunts would be welcome. Perhaps it was time to start finding new friendships, that might help them through hardship. She hoped they'd been through enough already, and that the next year might prove to be gentler to the seawolves. 

She dipped her head quietly as they took their leave, and turned to her sister. She had few objections. "I like dat Heph one," She admitted, once the ambassadors were out of earshot.