Windsong Fjord I don't wanna hear about it anymore

@Gent!

October 6
Sunny, 43°F, 6°C

Too far. This was much farther than she needed to go.

The moment her eyes laid on the deep cavern of water the Reinier woman had realized the full implication. It took endurance to come this far, but it would take dedication to cross the Fjord. If Inkheart and Camio had come this far and made the swim, then they had meant to leave. There was no one she wanted to find in this direction and they were far more safe (from her) across that great stretch of water. As much as she wanted to find Arion and Nalda's fathers, deserters would receive no mercy from her. It was their hide if they dared to try such a thing.

Inwardly she cursed herself. It was bright and sunny now, but it was going to be a long journey to her own red-cedar forest and it would be dark long before she made it back. Iopah took a resentful glance at the water, scanned the shoreline, and turned her back on it. She scaled the western slope, going back the way she came with one singular thought. She had told @Koda she would be back by morning and it was looking like that was a lie.

At the pinnacle of the slope, with the midday sun clear on her shoulders, she looked backwards. All that distance -all that time!- wasted for nothing. "Crap," she muttered and started on her way.

She might have turned back, but it was too late to escape these western lands without facing even this small bit of her past. Once he had tasted her scent upon the wind, Gent had forgotten the curfew he'd set for himself and drove through the winding stream, pulling himself up soaking on the opposing bank. The water poured from him as powerful strides ate up the rocky ground between them. It was unknown even to the beast himself what would occur when finally he caught up to her, of what all would be said, of what all would be felt. Lugh had been gone for so long by now, permanently erased from his life like so many others. After all of the turmoil of late, it was time to decide which grudges were really worth holding on to, and the timbers king would not leave Iopah's presence today until he had figured out where their conflicting ties lie.

The frigid water still clung to his guard hairs even as she finally came into view, the man's lower half an even deeper blue black with the weight of it. She had crested a vantage point, and he saw her dial turn back his way. There was nothing within her posture nor visage that indicated she had seen him, and he could only venture a guess that the shadow cast had hidden him from her sight while the downward wind swept away his scent. She started to move, further displacing herself from him, and so to stop her the king let out a resounding bark, beckoning her to him with an edge of demand to his voice. 

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

Iopah paused again, frowning as she started to enter the shade of the trees on the southern side of the slope. Could that have been what it sounded like? The woman turned -half in the shade and half in the sun- to look back up at the peak and listen. The bark didn't come again, but she couldn't shake the sense that it had been her name in that wordless cry. Someone was looking for her, and she was looking for someone. Slowly, almost not expecting her luck, she stepped back up to the peak.

The wind pulled her coat around, she stood fast and squinted into the shadows and glaring sun alike. The only movement she could see was the distant ripple of water and the wind brought only the sour odor of deer, but she was not superstitious and someone had called to her. Closing golden eyes against the sun, her head tipped back to call into the warmth of the afternoon. When her eyes reopened an ebony-cast shadow was moving. She watched in curiosity till the lines split away to form the contours of a wolf. Inkheart? Her stance lifted, tail swaying despite how angry she was likely to be with the wayward male. She started down the slope quickly, pushing headlong through brush and scrambling gracelessly over stones.

It was sunlight glinting of blue eyes that showed her error. She slowed, spending more attention on identifying the wolf rather than making her way. Hollow had not been seen in over a year and Miccah was too loyal-bound to have come so far. But there was still a pervasive sense of deja vu and guilt over this wolfs appearance.

"...Gent...?" She called out cautiously, as if testing the name against the wolf. "Gent!" And then she was scrambling back down the slope once again, just as excited to discover this wolf as she had the other. "I tried to find you, but you had all disappeared."

He had earned her attention as wished, and his pale eyes watched her unwaveringly as she crested the precipice once more before surging forward, quickly winding through the brush and over the rough terrain to meet his summons. There was an inability to know what caused her to move with such urgency, and he braced himself for anything while remaining immovable. The wind buffeted his coat, pulling the moisture from it with long fingers and chilling his skin, but all was ignored as if there was no room for any thoughts which did not concern Iopah. Then she slowed, apparently having made a mistake, and he wondered if this was another piece of his past that had discarded their memory of him in favor of moving on completely. So be it, he decided internally. As long as she remembers what she did to Lugh.

His name then left her lips, a question and then a jubilant exclamation. His visage softened ever so slightly, perhaps imperceptibly, and as she skittered to him she uttered further words that were familiar to his ears. It was similar to the greeting given to him by @Naia, another whom had been anticipated an enemy. It was still confusing to attempt and sort out whether the River scout had become a friend or not, and so he did not allow the precedence to have further presence within his mind.

"That's what I keep hearing," he answered coolly, refusing to mirror any of her excitement even if a piece of him felt uplifted to see her again. "I tried to figure out what happened, but eventually moved on. I lead Round Stone Crest now."

It was something of a test, and his gaze studied her face closely, searching for even the smallest betrayal of recognition. How far would her crimes have followed her? Did she know anything of the war she left behind? Did she even care?

(This post was last modified: Nov 05, 2015, 01:08 AM by Gent.)

Oh. This aloof greeting was somehow not quite what she expected.

A frown creased her face as the distance between them was closed, relief clashing with confusion as she began to search his face in the same manner that he was. Iopah tried to remember the Gent from her memories. He had been honest and succinct, but easily slighted - hadn't he retracted that offering when he learned Danica would not get it? She offered a tentative sway of her tail, not sure if something else had happened to offend him.

Oh. Round Stone Crest.

Yes, something had happened. She swallowed thickly, thoroughly aware of the worry that she couldn't shield from her eyes. "I heard you moved out of the blackberry fields." From Naia, though that wasn't all she had been told. 'Secret Woodland traitors, a brutal attack, the Crest's battles.' Shit. Shit! Shit! She couldn't help inch backwards, reaching for the land she had so trustingly crossed only moments ago. The words and acknowledgments that she didn't say were clearly broadcast in her expression.

There were so many questions now - oh, why hadn't she asked Naia more? How much danger was she in? How much danger was her pack in? Her tail swirled and ears set back, a determined gesture for those that knew her. She would not lead an attacking Gent back to her family, even if that meant she never returned herself. "So, now what happens?"

Even as the troubling assumptions swiftly bubbled to the surface of his mind with Iopah's expressive response, he felt a wealth of thanks that she did not mask it all, hiding from him any truths that may help him navigate the treacherous terrain between them as say, @Kisla had. He was given something to work with, though as his ears pressed forward to quivering heights he felt a prick of anger that Iopah knew anything at all. Who had she been talking to? Did she possess informants? Had they been watched? Did she still hold ties within Secret Woodlands who told her of the anger Minka had rightfully held? Or was it some other, outside agent? He needed to know.

"Seems you've heard a bit more than just that," he rumbled, his voice still absent of emotion, unwilling to equally exchange expression between them, though it was clear he was displeased.

"Lugh is the name of the man you maimed. He lost his leg. I amputated it myself. Now, we've lost him. He meant a great deal to me," he informed her, however even as she inched away, he did not move to maintain the same space between them. It was to be clear that at this moment, he wasn't looking to hurt her. He truly wanted to talk, for now.

"He admitted to crossing your borders. Said he was where he shouldn't be. What you did to him, though... I can't reconcile that with the Iopah I knew. So now, I want your side of the story. Not just about Lugh. I want to know everything you've done to make the West despise you so much. I want you to justify it for me."

(This post was last modified: Nov 08, 2015, 10:25 PM by Gent.)

here! -offers- have lots of Io mouth-sounds

There was a feeling of relief at the distance gained between them, but her ears rounded back at his accusation and she watched him narrowly. If he was trying for more information -and it felt like he might be- he was going to have to sink to her level of bluntness and ask out-right. Though she had a fair idea of what his ire revolved around.

Lugh. Her eyes lowered, remembering the day she had lit into the thicket's trespasser. Lugh, so that was his name. She listened to Gent speak, shifting as the consequences of that attack came from his own point of view. There was no regret over her decision and no question she wouldn't do the same again, but she still wished it hadn't had to happen. Just because Lugh was gone didn't mean it was forgiven and she had to ask, "Was it 'cause of the leg?"

Gent's words caused an indistinct ripple of disquiet in her. The disapproval was loud and clear, but something else made her gold eyes burn daggers at the ground.

"I told Tokino living so close to us was a bad idea." She clearly remembered her words; a warning not passed along. "Share hunting grounds after that winter? That famine? Stupid... and he didn't even care." She drew a deep breath, barreling through her irritation. He wanted an explanation, he was going to get an explanation. "Pacem was lost. Aideen was lost. Koda was leading alongside Nina and everything was..." She trailed off, biting back words, and looked up. "I was frustrated, I was upset, and I had already warned them." The rest seemed to be common knowledge.

Precious few had ever asked her history, despite how easily they branded and labelled her. For a moment she stared at Gent, trying to decide how much of everything he truly wanted to hear. He'd said 'the Iopah I knew'... how could he have known anything about her? She stared up and the ripple of disquiet exploded. "Do you know how Nina wanted us to spend the rest of our lives?" Her words were soft, but far from gentle.

"She was going to let Koda keep his rank, make him work for his crown, but never let him have children. No one was going to have pups, not until one of us died or lost in a rank fight." That opportunity had occurred to her, but she had been unable to set teeth against the woman that had taken her in - a decision that had led to animosity regardless. "Even before, during the winter, they were upset with us. Danica she... she heard us and began screaming at us, she denounced Koda and tried to attack him. Maybe we could have stayed, but I would've been miserable and I would have hated Nina for it."

"Koda wanted children and I wanted more than what the thicket had turned into. Spring came and I went to my mate." There was no embarrassment, he had wanted to know and she was sick of the half-truths that met her at every turn. "Koda and I bred and then went to tell Nina what happened and that we were leaving. She cast us out, let her own son leave so that she wouldn't have to change her decision."

He gave her his full attention, taking each and every word as seriously as the conversation warranted it all to be. His glacial gaze was unwavering and unabashed, locked upon her dial. The first name off her tongue was Tokino's, and he found himself wishing he'd known more of the man so that he could better weigh the veracity of what was being told to him. Yet he could acknowledge that Black Thorn Downs had been settled unreasonably close to not just an unallied pack, but one with such strong ties to the enemy they had fled from. He also knew first hand the winter of which she spoke. Even with the distance between the Keep and the Woodlands there had been near clashes once the prey had gotten scarce enough for it to truly matter down to the wire. He had to wonder also if Tokino had ever brought back such a warning to Minka's ears. Vividly, the leviathan recalled the meeting in which the Blackberry Queen had announced to them all that they were at war. How Tokino had been just as shocked as them, how quick she had been to act. It helped him to see that as high in esteem as he had held Minka, she hadn't always made the best decisions under pressure.

@Raela's voice played through his head, the opinion he knew she would hold on the matter carrying heavy weight within his thoughts. Regardless of the culminating circumstances, Lugh hadn't deserved what had happened to him. Gent fully agreed with this sentiment, and yet he also couldn't deny the truth; if he had been in Iopah's place, with the same stress pressing down his spine and no one to intervene, Lugh might not have made it out alive at all. He couldn't forget though, Iopah hadn't been alone.

As she regarded him, he merely stared back, unwilling still to shed any light on the goings-on within his head. When she parted her jaws again, the rhetorical question gripped him, and he was surprised to find that this was perhaps the story he had wanted most to hear from her. Despite the shakiness of her past with those he had grown close to, @Nina was becoming a respected equal to the man. It was necessary to know this fragment of history, this additional piece to the jigsaw portrait of the Thicket Queen, for thanks to the transgressions of others, the ground between them still had its cracks, and he refused to trust before he knew that such extension would not endanger his pack.

As she continued, it fell together into a reasonable enough picture, with just a few subtle questions resting within him still. Her mention of @Danica caused his ears to stand taller, and he could only imagine how Koda's dedication to Iopah would have only heightened the sense of betrayal felt by the young girl. After all, hadn't he left her, only to return and instead of placing himself back into the hole he had made, giving himself to someone else entirely? Especially from a yearling's perspective, it would have been utterly unfair. Yet none of that was Iopah's onus, and he had to wonder if perhaps he wasn't being told the whole story. What with Mirren's vicious disposition toward these traitors, the desire the Woodlands had for revenge, Gent had thought that perhaps violence had been committed. To breed without permission, to break law and then announce their departure rather than pursuing their desires in a legal, respectful way was certainly deserving of banishment, but not vengeance. Were there emotions and jealousy still over this Koda? Or was it the same grave sense of betrayal that had caused Minka to attack and outcast her closest friend?

There were too many intricacies, all emotional, and none truly concerning him nor worth his time, much less worth hindering the Crest. A deep sigh was expelled from his jaws as at last he closed his eyes, slowly shaking his head. With the carbon he shed the tension that had been wracking his muscles, the suspicion and the anger. He had further questions, more he wanted to know and more he wanted to pursue, but no more did he want to separate himself from the woman before him with grudges.

When again his opened his eyes, the intensity behind them had diminished ever so slightly, though still there was nothing but gravity within his gaze.

"We aren't sure what happened to him," he answered her quietly. Perhaps he would never know if he could blame Iopah for Lugh's demise or not, but even the man in question would not desire such harbored negativity, and he found the point effectively rendered moot. "One day he was just gone. We couldn't find him." No, in the end, Gent could only blame himself for what had happened to the herbalist, and it would not be brought up again by the king himself.

"What do you know of the Crest?" he asked then, his voice strong once more as he looked to her again.

It was frustrating to have so little to go on. Iopah was well used to her own inability to conceal her emotions and was irritated with Gent's opposing impassivity. What she had just shared was very close to her heart -emotions both painful and joyful- and it was near to an insult to be left lurching with no response from him. This emotionless, obsidian sculpture was not winning any sort of trust with her.

She said nothing as the rest of Lugh's story was laid out, but there was no optimism in her expression. If Gent had not made the same assumption that she had the cream-coated woman was not going to spell it out for him. He likely would not take kindly to her matter-of-fact explanation that sometimes wolves left to await their death in seclusion. One way or another, Lugh was unquestionably dead somewhere.

There was another question and the silence hung unbroken. Seconds ticked by, lengthening into a definite stretch of rudeness on her part. If he had an opinion -and it seemed he did- he needed to get the guts to say it; she was not going to put up any more of this in-depth questioning otherwise. "I know you changed your name," Her words were clipped, the answer succinct, "and I know you moved north."

That was it. Everything else she she truly knew of them. Though there was one thing she wanted to know, a question Gent had yet to answer. "So," She posed the question again, clearly spelling it out as if he was a distracted youngster, "Now what is going to happen between us, to our families?" If he didn't want to answer any of her questions that was fine, she knew the way back.