Cedar Sweep relinquo

The path through the hinterlands had been sorely neglected by Klara for sometime - often she would scale the cliffs in favour of passing through the valley due to the presence of their neighbours. To say she was displeased would be an understatement; the steelmaiden deeply disliked the idea that their passage home lay in the hands of someone else.

Boldly, she probed further into the territory and left the rushing river behind. She discovered a den still bathed in milk-scent, the remnants of chewed hide scattered here and there. Curiously, she followed the trail of scraps to a more-or-less intact pelt. It may not have been the hide of a great boar, but it would make a fine addition to her sleeping place nonetheless.

Ears pricked for any sign of the resident family, the steelmaiden began to gather the fabric so she could more easily drag it back to the Kingdom.

They're only discussing leaving right now, and as no travel threads are up - they're still here!

Kigipigak had taken note of a scent crossing the territory while he gathered supplies for the family, a task which held him in an emotionless stupor as he refused to face his feelings about it. To a skin he laid some toys meant for his children, and was wrapping this carefully when he heard something shifting in the woods.

He stopped his work immediately to investigate, although his heart was not in it. Resigned as he was to the fact Napatukviq was not thriving the way it should have been and knowing they would not be here much longer, he was not so quick about defending the village.

However, he saw someone leaving the den where his children had once slept; they pulled at one of the few remaining pelts. They were a face he did not know and as a result the man's snarl echoed forth: What do you think you're doing?

He was at the den mouth in an instant, bristling, crowding the stranger but not yet snapping those teeth. The scent of Reyna was prevalent upon them.

omg, sorry! I've made some edits to the first post, but she is trespassing!

Klara had gathered as much of the hide as she could into a small bundle before the telltale sound of footsteps sent a chill down her spine. Her head snapped up, salmonberry gaze squinting as a great white lumbering beast of a wolf made a hasty approach. 

Her tail swished a submissive rhythm between her hocks yet she stood her ground. She was not afraid of him - what could he do her that Reyna would not surely do to him? "Visiting," came her dry answer, nerves showing only in the lick of her lips.

No, you are leaving. Drop that. Go. He countered with a flash of his teeth as a final warning.

Was this how Reyna controlled her people? What of their bargain? If the village had more bodies then this would never have happened - many such thoughts flashed through Kigipigak.

You really found an ulaq with the scent of children and thought to invite yourself inside— The audacity!

He would herd her along if she did not move of her own volition quickly enough.

"As you vish," despite his toothy display, Klara deliberately took her time in detaching herself from the fur. This man's settlement was weak - pathetic - and she was more than content to display his incompetence with a steady swish of her tail as she took her leave.

She responded to his next outburst with a clack of her tongue. "Vell, your babies are not here now - are they." He would follow surely, as the steelmaiden led them back towards the river. There were a million things she could retort back, but she held her nerve. "Vhy do you stay?" she questioned then, voice tinged with genuine curiosity. "Do you enjoy being the doorman to our kingdom?"

He accounted for her attitude by taking note of her age, and the fact that the village she now rummaged through was indeed faltering, both lending a certain false bravado. Kigipigak was within his rights to do her harm - and had conveyed as much to Reyna when the arrangement was made - but, he was tired, and frustrated, and mourning now the loss of his home as well as the loss of his son.

Kingdom? Your mistress has lofty goals. He would escort the repugnant girl through the heart of the territory for as long as it took.

We are only a small family and a small village. Common courtesy does not appear to exist for your people. Napatukviq was here first, in other words. But I see you plainly now - you are vultures waiting to pick apart whatever you can.

He wanted to strike her. He wanted to make a message clear to Reyna that their arrangement had been broken, and his threat which was posed before was still valid; yet Kigipigak knew he was not the kind of person to do that. Besides, the family would not be here much longer - what purpose would it serve to assault this idiot girl?

I do not enjoy spending my time on the outskirts while my children grow, and my wife is left alone with them. I do not want to be a doorman. I only want my family safe. Your people will not have to tread so carefully soon - we are leaving.

A gaze of mixed emotions focuses on the girl. You can tell her that.

She was escorted and it was by some miracle that Klara had remained unscathed. Uncharacteristic even, given how deeply she had trespassed. Curiosity morphed to something akin to pity as she stole looks at the man as they walked, eyes squinting at the insult. "Your settlement is small, weak, yes? Ve may have more bodies than you, but ve are not monsters." Reyna especially would not have approved - not when there were children involved.

At his next words, she paused and spun to face him, studying his features for any sign of mistruth. "This is true? You are leaving?" This wasn't just a ploy to get La Muerte off their back? Something about the way met her gaze said otherwise. A pang of guilt throbbed in her chest - had this been their doing? While she did not trust this man nor his family, she swallowed a lump that had begun to form in her throat at the thought that this might all be her fault.

Then again, their alliance had been wire-thin at the very most. They would be safer elsewhere.

Turning away, she could not bear to see his face anymore. "I vill tell her."

He was silent as she processed his words, but then confirmed them with a certain stoicism he didn't truly feel.

I would not call us weak. We are a new family, that is all. My wife and I welcomed newborns and within the week Reyna had appeared, and her people — your people. It stung to have someone voice the smallness of Napatuqvik in this way even if it was true.

The fact that you would journey through someone's homestead without care is what worried me. I made space for your people by making that path — I could have very well confronted Reyna and forced her out. Instead, we will go. He breathes a heavy breath as the pair move towards the southern border.

He did not want to make excuses. That the arrival of more wolves had caused a change in the prey patterns, that his marriage struggled with all the time he spent guarding and escorting, that he had missed the first time his surviving children had opened their eyes and ears, their first steps — because of those who ignored their village and saw themselves as somehow superior.

No, he kept quiet on that front.

Eventually they would reach the border and Kigipigak would stand firmly on his side, watching the girl expectantly.

A new family. A wife and children. It made it all feel too real that they - that she - was displacing them. She felt most for the babies, but their father was a good man. Despite her dislike for him, that much was true. "I did not choose vhere our Kingdom lies," she tries to explain. "In many vays, ve are alike. You vant your family safe - so do I."

"Reyna - she is not always correct in her thinking." If her choice of lover was any proof. "Ve are alike, but different. Too different. I do not believe this... path could have vorked." In many ways she had investigated to see for herself who they were dealing with, to test them. "Besides, you are leaving now. Vhat does it matter?"

She crossed the border without hesitation, hackles softening. "I am sorry that it had to end this way. Your babies have a good father," she admits finally. "They vill do better away from our doorstep."

In the end, none of it would matter. Whether Reyna could be trusted or not, whether her people fell underheel to her or not, Napatuqvik would fall regardless and peace would resume in the area. Kigipigak understood that very well.

He could appreciate the apology from the girl, too. Although that too was pointless in the end.

I suppose it does not matter. Another sigh. But while we are still here, I expect some courtesy. That is all. His tone had dulled, becoming defeated; he would not say more on the subject of the path or of the agreement now.

He stood there watching the girl, nodding to her. Farewell. I wish your family good luck in their future.

There was work to be done — gathering, packing, and then the assembling of his family as they made their final farewells to their village. Kigipigak did not look back, and would not watch to see that his rule be respected by the girl any longer — he had more important things to do, now.

With that, he stalked off again.