Hideaway Strath lacrima

they were three.

germanicus invited @Valiria on patrol that afternoon as a mist of rain rose over the hinterlands. "it was not so many days ago that i met towhee while ranging. she was your mother's closest companion, if you remember the name. the redhawks reside somewhere in these lands. i do not intend to seek them out."

he was quiet thereafter, prepared to answer any inquiries.

Although she didn’t necessarily want to fraternize with the man who’d hurt several of the most important women in her life, Meerkat wanted to at least establish a line of communication with their southerly neighbors. She set out toward the strath this morning with two rabbits wrapped in a rather rough-and-ready deerskin. Thankfully, the journey wasn’t long, as it was an awkward parcel for Meerkat to carry.

She arrived at the arch and set the bundle at her feet. Her whisky eyes raised contemplatively to the natural gateway, remembering Towhee’s dire warnings about entering the hideaway. Meerkat shifted her weight and sent up a note announcing herself, then lowered her gaze to watch for the infamous Germanicus to appear.

Valiria walked alongside her father, her attention partly on him and partly on their surroundings. It was good to have work to do again—meaningful work with a beginning and an attainable goal. She thought the Strath a perfectly fine territory to claim, and it felt refreshing to devote herself now to protecting it and securing a future for herself and her family here.

She did remember Towhee, which she indicated with a nod. She found it odd, his statement. She did not connect the woman his father had taken to mate and abandoned with the Redhawks right away, but her memory told her vaguely that there was a connection there. In any event, she was growing used to her father mentioning this wolf or that family or pack and claiming they ought to keep their distance. It seemed Germanicus had very few friends left in these Wilds—a problem they would perhaps need to work on at some point if they ever wanted allies.

Before she could say a word, a call rose over the trees from the North. Her ears lifted, but she did not recognize the voice. She turned to look at Germanicus, ready to follow his lead should he decide they ought to attend.

he too thought of the future as they moved. rebuilding. reforging. remarrying, though he balked internally at the very concept. 

there existed so great a rift between he and his children that germanicus could not conceptualize asking valiria if she planned to marry. his offspring were soldiers as he was. love did not mingle with dutiful expectation.

the point was moot. a call rose and he moved to meet it. a woman waited outside the strath, pelted with tones of honey and sand. the tactician paused his step to offer a short nod. "hail."

the scents of meat and of deerskin were sweet in the air. a diplomatic mission, then, and who else resided in these territories save for the redhawks?

A dark figure appeared in the middle of the stone corridor, a contrasting she-wolf flanking him. The infamous Germanicus, Meerkat identified, eyes shifting to the young woman, and his… mate? The thought had her chewing the inside of her cheek as she thought of Fennec.

Hello, she responded when the dark man greeted her. I’m Meerkat Sveijarn-Corten, from Sun Mote Copse. My mother, Towhee, told me I’d find you guys here, so I wanted to introduce myself. I’ve brought a housewarming gift, she added, motioning at the bundle at her feet.

She drew in a breath, then fell silent to let them respond however they would.