Secret Falls the derivative of an experience is undefined

'cause darling you're nothing but brave

Lilya hadn’t wandered too far from the Surge… she just needed the opportunity to stretch her legs a little more than she had within the territory. She’d been careful to mind her surroundings… familiar surroundings, reminding her of her and Lachesis’s confusing start to their relationship – a confusing start that she would not trade for the world. She supposed that you could argue that their relationship had started long before that, but that was not what she meant. It was when they truly started to recognize what they felt.

But, that was off topic.

The agouti woman’s ears perked, feeling the wind through her fur, even in the biting cold it felt comfortable, and she definitely felt more relaxed than she had been in a long time. Perhaps it was because she was done trying to live up to someone else’s standard, trying to live up to everyone’s memory of Kisla as a leader… the Surge was hers… it was hers, and Lachesis’s… and they were the ones establishing a legacy. It was a weight she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying until she had been free of it… and now she felt liberated, and ready to let the Surge be a place without the ghosts of the past.

Askan still wasn't really sure what to think of their new neighbours, Driftwood Surge.

On one paw he took no offence to Lach moving his pack a little closer, they were allies after all and it wasn't as though the Old Man was stepping on his toes. But on the other it felt strange, he had assumed that despite all the hardships they had gone through Hearthwood River would still remain, forever strong like the towering trees that sheltered them. Nothing lasted forever, he knew that, but it just seemed...Askan wasn't fond of change.That's all there was to it really. He just needed time to adjust, to mull it over and get used to the fact their neighbours had inched a little closer.

Speaking of, there was a somewhat familiar scent on the wind. It didn't belong to a wolf he recognised but there were hints of Lachesis intermingled with it, as though the owner had rubbed up against the Old Man like a bear itching it's back on a tree. A Surge wolf then, Askan surmised as he drew ever closer, his nose guiding the way. He pushed on through the snow till a tawny figure came into sight, female with eyes bright blue, like the sky in summer.

Was this the lady that made Lach swoon like a spring maiden? Only one way to find out.

"Hey." Askan called, drawing ever closer so they could speak at a conversational distance. "You one of Lach's?"

'cause darling you're nothing but brave

Lilya’s head jerked around at the scent of another on the wind, drawing a deep breath as the wolf made himself known, greeting and then asking if she was one of Lach’s? Lilya figured based off the pack scent that the man clearly defined on his pelt and the way he held himself that he was from another pack who had met Lachesis before, one of their allies perhaps? She needed to get more in tune with the politics of the pack and who they were allied with, who they held grudges with… but there would be time for that. She knew there would be.

M’name’s Lilya… m’Lach’s mate and co-leader. She introduced herself with a soft smile, a polite nod in greeting and the soft wagging of her tail. She wasn’t technically one of Lach’s… he didn’t own her just as he didn’t own anyone else in the pack, but with as thick of an accent she had, and the strange vernacular she often used, she figured it might be a difference in languages or speech pattern and took no offense to it. N’you are? She posed. Again, if he didn’t know who she was, then there was no reason she’d know who he was, even if he was from an allying pack.

So his hunch had been right then, this was Lach's missus. The very same one of which he'd gotten all sappy over after that time Askan had accidentally kicked a rock at him. Whoops. Askan couldn't help but get a little judgy, what was so good about her huh? Did Lach like the blue eyes? Her curvaceous rump? Or was it that accent, of which Askan wasn't even going to try and place. Honestly, Askan couldn't see it but that wasn't entirely surprising, he didn't make goo goo eyes at women in general. Or anyone for that matter. Just @Reyes , not that he'd word it as such.

"Askan Selwyn, I lead Shallow's Edge, a little south of here."

He wondered if she had heard of him, not because he wanted to be notorious or something (that's probably what Craw wanted), it was simply that he assumed Lach would have at least mentioned him once or twice.

At least he now had a name and a face to put to Lach's mystery mate and co-leader. He knew that Kisla used to lead Hearthwood River before her death but he had never wondered who took her place. Had Lilya been leading the River the whole time or had she stepped up into the mantle more recently?

"I've heard a bit about you." He told her, the beginnings of a smirk working it's way into his features as his tail twitched in amusement. "It was all pretty gross, Lach's a sappy bastard."

'cause darling you're nothing but brave

Askan Selwyn. That was a name she recognized, and she offered a nod in return. S’good ta finally put a face ta the name. She’d heard, no matter how briefly, about him and Reyes both. She’d never had the honor of meeting them herself, though she supposed her luck had changed. There were a lot of pieces that Lilya was putting together. Perhaps it had been the years of running from the shadows she thought were chasing her, but she had become a bit of a homebody and preferred to deal with things around the territory rather than diplomacy in foreign lands…

There was a certain level of anxiety that she associated with Askan having heard of her as well. What could best be described as the wolf version of a raised eyebrow followed with a questioning look. Lach? Sappy? Never. What’d he say? M’gonna give him a good cuff at th’ears… She teased with a shake of her head. She wouldn’t of course, but talking about her? It made her almost embarrassed… she didn’t know why, it was probably just her sense of modesty and not knowing exactly what he said. She wasn’t sure. ’ope he didn’t scar ya too much with whatever he said.

At least now he didn't have to refer to her as Lach's baby mumma. No doubt there was more to their relationship than that, but in all honesty he didn't want to know the specifics. Sniffing about in other's dirty laundry was of little interest to the Edge Lord to the less he knew the better, or so he thought.

Askan had to cast his mind back to their conversation. How long had it been since? More than a couple of months, things were so different back then. Both Askan and Reyes had been in the dog house after Lorcan and Inna- in typical fashion-fucked everything up. Not that it really mattered anymore, the piss baby was long gone and Inna was...wherever she was.

Back to her question though, they'd spoken about a lot so it took a moment or so of scrolling back to recall what had been said. Or the gist of it anyway.

"Mostly that he was over the moon about how things were going with you. That you're not a push over, shit like that. Painted a pretty good picture, but he's biased and we both know it."

He snorted in amusement. Scare him? Pah, like that could happen. Askan wasn't scared of anything, except that he was, he had so much to lose these days and it had almost been ripped from him by that bastard- Whatever. No use getting all puffy about that now.

"Scare isn't the right word. More like...Repluse? Hm, maybe that's a bit too strong, but you get my point."Or at least he hoped she did, he wasn't trying to offend anyone here...Not that stopped him from doing it anyway, usually. "He's all right though, isn't he? For an Old Man."

It was strange really, considering that Heartwood had clearly favoured Whitestone over the Field to begin with. But look how things had changed, so much in what felt like no time at all.

'cause darling you're nothing but brave

She did let a her smirk fade into a soft smile when he told her what exactly Lachesis had stressed to him. Goddamn right, she wasn’t a push over and anyone who said otherwise could see the business end of her teeth. To scar Askan would have been amusing, but he didn’t take it that way. Repulse? Well, she couldn’t help but snort at the mere suggestion of him being repulsed. He got all icky on ya is what ya mean? She asked to clarify that she did indeed know what he meant by his strange language.

It was funny, and she knew that she was the strange one here, because of her strange vernacular, but she would always just see the rest of them as strange. Where she came from, this voice was normal, her accent was normal. M’pretty sure m’bias towards if he’s alright… unless ya want me to get ‘icky’ too. She offered with a laugh. “You lead the Edge, don’t ya? ‘ow are things there? No time like the present to get involved with pack relations, right?

"Yeah." It was a softer way of putting it, but it worked. Icky. Almost as though he'd rolled in some honey, all sickly sweet and sticky. Sounded about right, like the sort of tripe that had come from Lach's mouth that day. "That's it."

Of course she was biased though, in the same way Askan was towards Reyes, he supposed. To an outsider he probably didn't seem all that grand, but shit they were wrong. Beyond his snark and scowls there was... a lot Askan really liked, stuff only he wanted to see. Unlike Lach though, he wasn't overly fond of advertising his relationship with his mate as though he was waving a bright white flag about for all to see. Some things were supposed to be private, quiet things just between the two of them.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't. I had lunch earlier, I'd prefer to keep it down." He told her, his eyes gleaming with mirth. Soon they moved onto business, which was fine with him. "Thing's are going well, considering the weather. We're steadily growing and everyone is doing their part, can't complain."

He was telling a bit of a white lie, not entirely telling the truth. Cotton was still missing, as was Lenka. Time would only tell if they returned, if Askan would even let them back in.

"What of the Surge? Any problems settling in?" Moving in the dead of winter was a questionable choice, one Reyes didn't approve of, but they'd gone through with it nonetheless. Without issue hopefully, but he wouldn't have been surprised.

let's set it off

Lilya let out a soft and amused chuckle when Askan mentioned wanting to keep his food in his stomach rather than barfing it up, rolling her eyes in the process. She would admit it – he wasn’t half bad. Don’t worry Ah’ll spare ya th’details. She assured him so he might answer the question she had set forth. He did – things were going well, and Lilya was glad to hear it. They were on good terms with the Edge, and so of course she wished them the best, and hoped they would survive and persevere through the winter just as she knew the Surge was going it.

Yes, they’d moved in the dead of winter. Yes, the choice had been a little questionable… but things had gone smoothly, and things felt more peaceful in the Surge than they ever had in the Hearthwood. They were no longer haunted by the ghosts of those who had come before them, and while they would always remember them, never would they feel the need to feel as if they had something other than their own best work to live up to much as she had with living up to Kisla’s legacy. Thankfully no… things ‘ave gone smoothly since we left th’River.