Grouse Thicket roll for initiative

It served him to be on the move at all times, given that there was nobody to serve and nothing that held him anywhere at this time, so Tiluvas followed the routine of a soldier and rose in the pre-dawn hours to stake out his surroundings. On this particular day he found himself investigating a densely wooded thicket, and stalked carefully through frosted ferns and piles of wet leaves which glistened with ice.

There was a sound above him — a large bird, some sort of hawk perhaps? He was not a learned man — and the presence made him freeze in place and with tense shoulders, hold himself there to wait and watch. He stayed observant for half an hour before the bird took flight and winged away, at which point his body had begun to ache from the tension. As Tiluvas shook out his coat, he made a point to taste the wind before continuing his trek.

There was not much here aside the scent of ground-birds, and he knew he should try and hunt for something soon.

he had only loved crowfeather. he would only love crowfeather.

he had adored ruenna and her willingness to be his confidant. 

he had woken with fennec and found himself satisfied by the sound of her voice.

satisfied. not fulfilled.

in fact, if he would think of himself at all, he would delve into this idiomatic sin of men left alone together for long months.

see how he had turned it away a dozen times, accepted it at the last? 

and see now, how it had gone, for germanicus was wicked and wickedness must be held by iron.

he rested, leaning spine against the bole of a tree and stretching a foreleg before him, one after another. he had not fed his muscles more than lean meat in some time, and yes, he was ageing.

another harsh truth that must be swallowed at once.

movement. "show yourself."

rote. automatic. commanding.

this looked lonely...

The blob-like creatures along the shores had been enough to send her away from the coastal region—at least for now. She had trailed to terrain that could have been considered more familiar to her—or, had been on the autumnal vibrancy aspect.

And then she had found herself in a thicket, and while she had been eager to explore the tangle of branches at first, she found herself growing more frustrated with each step—and missing the salt of the air and the open space of the coastal line.

Instead, slim ivory fur became a collection of bramble and nettle—and when the demand of a masculine voice interrupted the silence, a derisive ‘harumph’ escaped her jaws—unknowing that she was perhaps not the encroach-er that had disturbed the man—and thus seeing him nowhere.

“Show yourself,” she shot back, lilac eyes flashing, looking for the direction the stranger had spoken.

!!!

rumination spared moments for no man. germanicus rose in a fluid motion. this voice was feminine and young while the earlier presence had been far heavier, masculine by scent.

it appeared as though the first had moved away. the ranger did not answer but soon as the trees thinned, his darksilver shoulders showed themselves beneath the cold burn of his yellowpaint eyes.

she was youthful with gemstone eyes and no pack fragrances laced into the air about her figure. the silken coat held many briars. germanicus decided she too was a traveller, and said gruffly, "our friend has gone away. forgive my insolence, domina."

A rustle of the brush—a pair of flat yellow eyes, much like the midsummer moon glowed back from her, and soon, a man emerged. Older—hardened, much like the warriors of her homeland. Gruff and formal—also, much to her distaste, like the men of her homeland.

Formalities and meaningless conversation had always been the worst her of role and title.

She jutted her chin up—his words indicating there had also been another he sought—but not wishing to look entirely naive (too late) or ridiculous (also too late, as she tried to shake a paw free from a more thorny branch), she instead went the route of many youths—resorting to snark. “Do your friends usually run away from you?”

Her tongue slid over white untouched lips—her eyes rapt upon him, waiting for his feathers to be ruffled by the barb—he seemed like a ruffled feather kind of guy.

"often," he quipped in return. with the mien of a soldier switching helm beneath another arm, he relented the harshness of his straight posture. 

the thorns continued to plague her. germanicus was amused. 

he took a sidestep, wondering if she would follow him out of the bramblewire and to more level ground, just some feet away. "as it turns out, only family remains in the end."

she was alone. he assessed her once more as a pack wolf, and then as a potential for mereo.

lmaoooo 'often.' Poor Germ <3

He moved to the side—her eyes followed him. A delicate tilt of her head—the carefully placed mask of a girl raised to keep her cards close to her chest.

He mentioned family—she couldn’t quite fathom such a statement. Family was meant to preen—to carve from wood what would be in their stead—hoping wood would give way to stone, much like themselves.

Saccharine, then, an eyebrow rose upward. Her own form pushing past brush, to now surpass him, as she went to navigate what she assumed was the correct direction from the web of trees, trying to ignore the rapid pulse of nerves as she felt further enclosed.

Thankfully, she caught flash of clearing. She didn’t wait to see if he followed—did not respond to his musings of family and what that implied. A family man, it seemed. A family man with friends who ran away from him.

She had not missed the scars that adorned his flesh—could not help but recall the untouched fur and skin of her own brethren.

Nobles did not fight.

Nobles ordered others to fight for them in what they believed was out of respect and adoration to their crown.

Only when she emerged from the thicker foliage did she give pause, a roll of her shoulders back--a satisfied huff of breath offered to the cool autumn air.
Only when

LOL couldnt resist

germanicus was not inclined to follow a young woman alone through a woodland. she all but fled him, her step sure, her carriage highstrung like a delicate horse.

the yellow eyes watched as she stepped beyond the treeline. germanicus turned back to the shadows himself, feeling the ache of a long life in his lower spine.

the eagle meant to return to son and daughter. both of them had settled easily into the strath. for this reason was he loathe to insist they move on. 

one ear turned for the other wolf, germanicus would depart unless halted.

we have no power so slow phone posts it is

She inhaled. She exhaled.

The sounds of branches being stepped on did not follow--her lilac gaze drifted back a moment, her lips turning upward to a smirk as she ducked her head low, squinting, trying to see if she could see the scarred soldier through the trees.

What, you can't come into the light? Are you a vampire or something?

the worst!! I hope it comes back on quickly <3

the roman had not gone a handful of steps before the young woman's sardonic voice called to him. half bemused, half exhausted at the thought of further company, germanicus emerged from the woodland to stand near the stranger, though not so near.

his peripherals appraised her in the brighter light. she appeared to have the same age as his own children, perhaps younger. a girl. he thought idly of aquillius but the idea was not formed.

"i take it you are searching for more open land," he said quietly, alluding to how swiftly she had left the weald.

Those same moonglow eyes peered out from the brush before the man emerged and she openly studied him. A warrior, she could only surmise.

But for what kingdom?

I don't like feeling trapped, she admitted, seeing no reason not to share this detail. I was hoping you could tell me where I am.

"you are in the tuktu hinterlands. five days north is the sea. five days east is the great bear wilderness. seven days east will bring you to kintla flatlands. if you journey south from there, a walk of four days will deliver you into the naaghai lowlands, a desert. if you continue east from kintla, in a total of ten days you will see the sunspire mountains. if you cross them and still travel easterly, you will come to the snowforest taiga. if you move south from the mountains, you will find the rising sun valley. the tuktu does not have a western endpoint that accommodates travel."

his voice was rote.

he spoke without seeing her.

A pause.
A blink as he continued on.

A slow smile pressed to her lips. Not a vampire, then. A robot.

Aren't you useful, she mused, arcing forward to brush against the bark of a tree, as if she could still feel the sharper jabs of the thorns that adorned the thicket.

I was just at the ocean. Can't say I'm eager to go back. She pursed her lips then in consideration, gaze drifting back to him after studying where they had come from. Am I keeping you from your family?

"my children are older than you."

the anonymity of their discourse pleased germanicus and lifted from him some dragging emotion.

"the desert was pleasant. for a short while."

his son's maddened biting, the woman's screams, the story of slavery and deception told to the ears of the sons and daughter who had come back for him.

there was nothing in the desert that belonged to him. perhaps this sprite could make better use of the sands.

Surprised by this admission--but it spoke that he had no whelps to return swiftly to.

Idly, she wondered if they had been a roving family. How much more adventurous that seemed, compared to being cast upon a wooden throne within a rich forest.

Hard no you sand, she murmured, finally allowing her form to sag lower against the tree until she lay upon the cool ground. Fatigue came easily when one traveled, it seemed.

Also not a fan of bears. What did you think of the Flatlands?

no sand. no bears.

"the flatlands entire are ruled by a single kingdom whose power now reaches from the sunspire into the desert. a beautiful vision. queens. pharaohs. servants."

he remained standing as she wilted in the cold air. considering he might feed her as he had matteo, the eagle turned away from the distance and began to quietly search for game.

The smallest tell--a flick of her ears to a slender crown before she straightened--the smallest twitch at the corner of her lips.

No. No kingdoms.

She would choose bears before kingdoms.

Sounds too complicated, she aimed for an offhand tone. Curious as she watched him, his own movement with purpose--but to what?

You've been to these places before but are now here. Why here?

A certain wildness emanated from him--even without the vivid map he had succinctly given her there was a knowledge of the world within those hardened muscles.

And certainly something haunting about those eyes.

kingdoms had already played a role in this one's short life.

her precise coltlike gestures, her delicate nature and bold mouth; she belonged to importance, or she had.

the young traveller shifted the attention back to him, a move telegraphed by her inexpertise in deception. "it was where my son chose to settle," germanicus told the stranger, and this time he moved the flat nature of his yellow eyes upon her face. "you are new to these lands, otherwise you would have known how to navigate the briars. your youth suggests you are running from something."

the tactician.

"will it follow you here?"

She stiffened considerably at his words, her seashell gaze suddenly averting away from him and his intense stare.

Her jaw flexed... a pale paw smoothing over the terrain before her as she forced herself to loosen.

Releasing a soft hum, she shifted her weight, curling to reach behind, working away the nettles and brambles from a lissome haunch of ivory.

They will search for me. They will find me. They know no other way, she allowed, her tone lowering. I wished to explore what it felt to be... How do valley folk say? A dispersal wolf? She paused, ruminating. Grooming her fur back to silk.

"do not tell me you are a noblewoman or perhaps a princess who has run away from her throne," the ranger offered in a dry tone.

she denied nothing. his assessment had been sound. "if you do not wish to be found, then keep moving. the teekon wilds are vast. you will not be discovered if it is not your desire."

now a small tinge of humour touched the very corners of his gaze. "it is a bad time for dispersal, domina." this was a fact she would know had she not been raised inside a kingdom, choosing when to answer instinct instead of heeding the call when it came.

of course, germanicus did not know for certain her origins.

but he truly knew one of nobility when they were before him.

Mírwen of Tawarwaith, she murmured with a parroting dry tone. And wrong. Now or never was the perfect time to set my escape into motion.

She would argue he did not understand the pure stubbornness bred into her bloodline--that her brother would scour lands until she was once more beneath his paw... a pawn to be used in his political games.

So, she practically purred before straightening once more, assessing him with returned amusement. Your recommendation is to keep up my exploration of... Teekon Wilds, you called it?

mirwen of tawarwaith. the roman had heard neither name and now understood that her travels indeed had been a flight. "yes. that is my recommendation, along with the suggestion that you find a pack with whom to stay if only for the winter. the cold months are unforgiving to those alone."

restless and aware they had been standing for some time, he tested a step away from the forest, then another. "germanicus julius caesar, imperator of mereo and fourthborn son to editum's emperor gaius drusus."

yes. he comprehended the weight into which one of their lot was born.

Where his name and titles were lengthy—they were gruff, as well. A stark difference to the softer words of her people, and she found herself with the vague flicker of something akin to being homesick. Still, the smile remained upon her lips, toying with the potential that lay before her.

“And where does one find a… pack?” Kingdoms—divisions—these were familiar to her. Packs were a newer concept to the yearling—particularly the small numbers of familial wolves that remained with one another. “And what is an imperator of mereo?”

it was a question fit for him and no other. mirwen might be elsewhere mocked for complete lack of understanding when it came to the ways of their kind.

"there are eight of which i know. one is starting here, in the tuktu. find a place that is interlaced with many scents and ask humbly for an audience." was humility something that this one could muster?

as for himself; "imperator of mereo is only a long way to say i am a soldier and have been so since i could scarcely walk."

It seemed counterproductive to her original goal--explore and see the world. Not pledge loyalty to a group for months at a time.

Still, she considered his words, her uncertainty given away only by the way she nibbled at the inside of her cheek and the smallest hint of a frown that marred her features.

And then he spoke again-- and she found her humor waning for a moment. A heaviness clung to him. And as such, she shifted her weight, pressing her slender side to the cool ground, an arched brow and a slow wave of her tail an indication he could settle more if he so desired--she did not bite.

It seems to me as if you are held by shackles yourself, she murmured quietly.