Arrow Lake Blood of my Blood

@Lavakho mild PP if you don't mind. Not using the translator for agility purposes ;)

The time to move the Khalas again had come. It had been good days since they reached the Meadow, but it wasn't sufficient for Rakharo's desires. It still lacked the bison herds he wanted to have, and the expases weren't large enough. He wasn't comfortable there. And when the morning came, the golden Khal greeted it with a howl that called for his pack to gather and follow west.

The mountains were high, and Rakharo hated going too high. The only time a Dotharan was supposed to ge that high was at his funeral, when his remains would be entombed close to the sky and his ancestors. So you may imagine how uncomfortable Rakharo felt by going up a mountain once again.

At the top, ahead of his Khalas for a couple hundred meters, Rakharo stopped to examinate the other side of the ridge. He had surrounded a large lake and was now it was at his back. It was thickly clouded, and his sight couldn't go too far ahead. There was no way to know what was down the hills of the mountain.
"What do you say, Brother?" he asked Lavakho, who had never left his side.

Cool cool!  Actually, I'd much rather not use the translator haha!

Fuck the mountains.

No, seriously... Lavakho was not a happy camper.  Sure, the meadow was alright; flat, comfortable, and relatively flowery. However, it didn't wag a damn paw to Rhaesh Dahaan.  But this, this fucking mountain was brutal and no fitting place for any living Dotharan to be.  It was uncomfortable, but unfortunately necessary to cross if he were to follow his brother to the promised lands.  He trusted his brother was right in his promise that lied beyond the mountain, and that trust was the only thing keeping him going.

The two Drojharkosi brothers led the Khalas through the thick of it and up to the peak of the mountain while the rest of the pack lagged behind.  Lavakho stopped behind his brother to take in the view.  Nethertheless, viability was shot and he couldn't tell if plains were beyond the mountain... or if the world just subsequently ended in a cloudy mess of fog.

"I say, lead on my brother," said Lavakho in a low grumble.  However discontent he was with his surroundings, his resolve would not be shaken.  "But, I hate these mountains."  

Lavakho's faith on Rakharo was unmeasurable. He never questioned his decisions or rejected to carry on any of his orders. He trusted him unconditionally and there was no one like that anymore, not since his Khalas had decided he wasn't fit to lead anymore.
Bullshit.
He had lead his family away from Rhaesh Dahaan and they had made it to a new world completely safe from harm. That was a leader's task, to take care of his followers, and to make decisions for them, and it hadn't been easy to make the decision of leaving the homeland, but it had been the best.

"I do too. I can't even breathe properly here." Rakharo said with a tone that leaned towards a growl at the end of the sentence. He didn't feel safe so high up in the mountains, and he wanted to gat down as soon as possible, but there was a decision to make. Run down west, to the unknown, or going back east, to the Meadow that had sheltered them for days.

"I can't see anything..." he took two steps forward into the fog in an attempt to see further ahead, but it was useless. Once again they were trapped in uncertainty. His fault. "There has to be plains somewhere around here... These mountains can't go on forever..."

Lavakho continued forward, as if he could break through the fog with a few steps and get a good look at his surroundings.  No dice.  Only a grey void sprawled beyond the mountaintop. However, the fog around the mountain was an accurate reflection of how Lavakho felt on the matter of moving forward.  With each passing day, the warrior was growing more dissalusioned and lost. Uncertainty was piling up on top of Lavakho's already heavy heart.  Continuing on was becoming difficult.

"Brother, do you trust her? ...Awazzi,"  Lavakho inquired.  To the warrior, this goose chase was all her fault.  His trust in the crones had once been strong, however wandering though shitty mountaintops had caused his trust to flake away like old lead paint, peeling in the sun.  "Because, I don't think I do..."  His voice trailed off behind him.  Lavakho found himself disappointed in his own mindset and his mistrust, but he had to get it out before he burst at the seams.    

Although Rakharo had actually started to doubt the Dosh Khaleen's omens a long time ago, he had faith. Awazzi, who was of his own blood, was undeniably a gifted crone, she had the sight and she had never predicted something that didn't happen. But holding on to that alone was getting tough, and the road to, apparently nowhere, was starting to make Rakharo's trust on the crone to wane. Lavakho was in all his right to feel the way he did, and Rakharo didn't blame him for that. He was thankful for his loyalty.

His brother's inquiry had made Rakharo think, and he stayed silent for a moment before turning around, with a worried stare, to his golden brother and greatest friend. "Why would she lie to us?" he asked, more to himself in a regretful way than to his brother.

So sorry for the delay! I know I've been super lax with Lavakho recently and I'm super sorry!  Life's just been so busy, and I fell so behind with Reek making this'un fall to the backseat.  Now that I'm sort of caught up, I think I'll be more active!

The crones had given the brothers little reason to mistrust their omens and predictions, however, doubt still pulled at the back of Lavakho's mind, and peppered what little thought he had with uncertainty.  By all means, the younger Drojharkosi brother was not a patient man and their months of wondering to no avail had begun to feel all for naught.  But, if his brother trusted the crones, so would Lavakho until his dying breath.

"I don't know brother," he confessed.  It would be completely out of character for Awazzi to lie to the brothers intentionally, but perhaps her omens were wrong.  After all, there was a first time fore everything.  "But, i'm scared," he added, expressing his weakness before his brother.  If it hadn't been just the two of them, Lavakho would have kept his mouth shut. However, with his brother, the tough guy act faded away. But even so, Fear had no place in the Dotharan, but these mountains and valleys and rivers were far more fear inducing than any raid had ever been.  The warrior shot his brother a sad glance. "I just want to go home."  

That's alright!
I think I like that all of our threads have been about these two bonding even closer... <3
EDIT: @Lavakho would you still like to continue this thread?

It had been fear what had brought Rakharo to make the decision of leaving the homeland in first place. Fear had driven his paranoid of what might cause damage to his family when they were so weak, and fear had been the only one thing that had brought all of them to the distant land they now crossed.

Rakharo would have never confessed that for as obvious as it might seem.

It took great bravery for a Dotharan to confess their fear, such a demanding and fearsome culture was harsh on the weak, but Lavakho had just confessed his fear, with his heart open, to Rakharo. And he didn't know how to take it. He turned around with anguish in his eyes, and specs of fear gleaming in them, and he just stared at his younger brother, silent. Until he decided fear wasn't going to break him down. Not when they had gotten so far.

"We're going home brother. We just have to find it." the Khal said convinced of what he though about Rhaesh Dahaan and how it only meant death to him. Then, the golden Khal turned around and walked on, dipping into the thick fog and down the hills of the mountain. There was nothing else he could do now.

"So..." the Khal spoke awkwardly, feeling the tension caused by Lavakho's confession. "Kivi told me you met her...?" he said with amusment in his expression. That would break the ice.

Sorry about the long wait! We can wrap this up at 10 if you want!

Rakharo's eyes met Lavakho's for a brief moment, and while he wasn't completely sure, he felt as if he could see the same fear and uncertainty he felt looming behind Rakharo's tired gaze. It was only natural to fear the unknown, and even the mightiest of Dotharan would have quavered from their journey. However, Rakharo kept it together. Strong. A true leader. And despite how much Lavakho protested, he followed his brother without ceasing. If he was this sure, he must be right. Rakharo continued forward and as usual, Lavakho followed close.

There was a long silence between the two before Rakharo awkwardly changed the subject to Lavakho's embarrassment at the hands of Kivi. While the change of tone was welcome, the subject matter caused Lavakho to grumble. "And what did she tell you?" he spat with vitriol. "She's good... but the bitch got lucky." His defeat at her hand had come as a harsh wake up call. Lavakho's ego had finally caught up with him.

Sure, you can post once more and archive :)

It was evident that Lavakho was not happy about being bested by a female. Rakharo wouldn't either, he -just like his brother- was good at what he did, was was in his blood, but Lavakho needed to admit that he had fallen behind in his physical abilities. The journey from Rhaesh Dahaan had not been forgiving, but it hadn't left much time to sharen their skills either. It was understandable, and Rakharo was still faithful that Lavakho was the best at it... He just needed more practice.

"She told me she kicked your ass, and she looked smug about it..." the Khal said with a curve rolling up the corner of his lips. "Lucky?" he asked with a chuckle, "That bitch is tough, I have no doubt about that. She'll make a nice addition to the Khalas..." he commented, turning again to face the horizon.

Short fading post! I'll get it arcived!

Lavakho scoffed. Kicked his ass? She may have bested him in the meadow, but the fight had been close. If Lavakho hadn't tired so quickly, it would have been her face down in dirt instead. "She's wrong," he sneered arrogantly. However, despite Kivi's exaggeration of her victory, Lavakho knew full-and-well that she had earned it.  She was damn good and would eventually make a valuable asset.  But, asset or not, it didn't stop Lavakho from being sufficiently bitter.

"She'll get what's coming to her," he mused ominously before he began to descend the mountain.  "You coming?  'Course he would.  The Dotharan didn't belong on the mountaintop, and Lavakho held no intention to stick around.  Lavakho wouldn't spend another minute on that damn mountain.