Oak Tree Bend Among Friends

@Jessie, Sorry for the rather lame opening xD

Wakefulness came slowly, like a thick fog gradually receding. The last few days had taken their toll on Nayeli, what with her ceaseless journey home, and everything that had followed. It had been far longer since she had been able to fully rest without fear, to surrender herself completely to the blackness of sleep rather than always keeping one ear open. For once, her sleep had been dreamless. As her mind began to surface from the depths of slumber, Nayeli felt a cold panic wrap her mind. How could she let her guard down? How long...?

Suddenly fully awake, she took in her surroundings, breathing out a sigh after a moment. That's right. I really did make it home. She was finally back, where she ought to be able to let that guard down, and yet she wasn't finding it as nearly simple as that. Her instincts were still on alert, her nerves frayed, set to spring if anything should brush the tripwire.

Attempting to center herself, Nayeli studied her surroundings. She had chosen a spot within sight of the pack's den to nap, nestled in the ferns at the base of a towering oak. Last night she had been glad to share the den with the others, but sleep had not come easily - she could hardly wish to close her eyes, such a sight for sore eyes it was to see these faces and this place - she had remained awake, riding the wave of relief of being among them all once more - her family, her pack. Finally with dawn, the others had begun to stir, and she had finally felt her exhaustion overwhelm her. She'd left the den with the sunrise as well, choosing a place where she could remain close to the heart of the packs' territory to finally surrender fully to her exhaustion. How long had it been since she'd been able to simply lay and bask in the fresh air?

And it had done wonders - she guessed several hours must have passed between then and now, at the very least. Pushing herself to her feet, she stretched, loosening and warming stiff muscles. Her left front paw still protested irritably, and looked a bit swollen, reminding her that she was probably in need of a healer, as well as dredging up the image of Skadi and her snapping jaws. A silent snarl formed and died on her lips. Still, her mood refused to be darkened fully by such thoughts. Making it home was a victory she had fought hard for, and despite the bitterness her disappearance had brought to her life and those around her, there was an indelible sweetness now, too. Her rage toward those who had dared to try and make her a subject to their cowardly wills was never far off these days, but for the moment, the light pouring into the clearing teased at the idea of spring not too far off, the smell of oak and the wolves of the Bend mingled in the fresh air, and these bits of happiness overpowered all else. Nayeli stood there, drinking it in, and wondering in the back of her mind how long the peace might last.

(This post was last modified: Mar 08, 2015, 07:55 AM by Nayeli.)

Ever since the pack meeting, Jessie had been meaning to find her former alpha. She had been slightly shocked by the events of the meeting and hadn't been paying too much attention to the details, if any had even been given, to why Nayeli had disappeared. Of course, if she had been granted entrance back into the pack, obviously something had occurred to prevent her from determine or Triell was much more idiot than he had made himself out to be. Judging by the way things had turned out in Swift River and Oak Tree Bend in the past years, Jessie was learning more towards the former. Never the less, Jessie certainly wanted to know what was going on and wasted no time in tracking their former leader. The Tainn didn't know the current leader all that well, and perhaps, if all was well, she could see if Nayeli was planning on climbing back up the ranks. Jessie would willingly see to it.

It didn't take her long to find the scent of her friend (the term used loosely at the time) and she quickly followed the trail, it not taking Jessie long to pinpoint the other woman. She spotted the black coat not long after her nose told her she was there. Lifting herself up appropriately, she silently stepped forward, clearing her throat so that her presence was known. Cold emerald eyes locked on the woman in front of her, mouth opening so that she could speak freely, "I don't know the exact terms of your return, Mila...mmm...Nayeli. But I would very much prefer if you would tell me so I know what's going on." Her tone was cold for the time being, making it obvious that Jessie was not ready to so easily ready to forgive and forget. She waited there, never relenting in her piercing stare.

*spills out wall of words*

Jessie's scent was laced in the breeze, just preceding her arrival, and Nayeli's tail swayed instinctively as she noticed it. The dark woman had not yet had the chance to speak with everyone, including the Swiftpaw woman whose presence, service and company had been much appreciated in the past. Her presence was equally welcomed now, perhaps even more so. Typical of the accomplished scout, her approach was not heard until she declared it, clearing her throat in way of a greeting. With the flick of dark ear, Nayeli turned to greet the silver-grey woman, some of her initial joy melting away at the hard glint in those emerald eyes, the rigidity of Jessie's stance. Nayeli's own body and instincts were eager to respond in like, throwing up her guard, remembering how things had once been between them. Tired muscles tensed, and her tail ceased it's swaying, stiffening for a moment. But even after a bit of proper rest, she knew she was in no shape to bring the matter up right now, nor did really she wish to. She'd would need to regain her strength - and those bonds which had been so stretched and frayed - if she hoped to rightfully reclaim anything. Still, Nayeli might have snapped at any of the others she new less well if they'd crept up her like that, but Jessie was not just another face, she was - or at the very least had once been - a rare friend. However they might deal with matters between themselves now, Nayeli did not want it to come to tooth and claw, nor bitter words and feelings.

She compromised between her competing instincts by seating herself, and giving an earnestly grateful nod to the Swiftpaw as she listened to her. The falter in Jessie's words as she addressed her was noticed but not remarked upon - she didn't see much use in trying to interpret whether it might bode well or not for their standing with one another. Nayeli's gaze was level but her posture neutral, until her dark features were gradually illuminated by a smile once more. "Yes, we ought to speak more of it," she agreed, letting herself shift into a more comfortable position before continuing. Nayeli had shared enough of her recent ordeal that the pack might be on their guard, and know that she'd been waylaid and held by wolves who might well mean to come to the Lore and bring more trouble with them. If they did, it was highly likely that Jessie, as a scout, might run across them, and she ought to know what they were like. And perhaps there was solace to be gained from sharing some of her recent burdens with a confidant, the dark lady mused.

"I was beyond the borders in the red hills, hunting, when I got my paw trapped between some rocks. My calls were answered by those fiends, the four wolves you heard of at the meeting. There was a healer, @Vali among them, who claimed to simply wish to aid me in my need, and they helped me to their camp and kept me there with them - I could not have made it back then anyway, but as my paw grew better, they didn't seem likely to just let me leave. There was always at least one around to guard me, they began to prevent me from moving freely... and they had strange, dark habits. The boss of the group, @Garmr... he is the coldest of all of them, I think." Bits of hushed conversations had come to her ears during her time there, oaths and prayers uttered to a dark god whose name she had never before heard, whispers of restoring a bloodline. She had not been keen to stay and discover how far those dark depths reached.

"So I waited. Once I deemed I was sufficiently recovered to make the journey home, I bade my time and watched for the right opportunity to escape, pretending to be complacent to remain there for the winter at least, so they would not have reason to suspect my scheme. One evening, the rest were out on some errand, and it was @Skadi alone who stood watch. I think perhaps she underestimated me. Thanks to her, it seems even their healer's aid has been rescinded, but I was able to make my escape." Nayeli shifted her paw - to a keen eye, the swelling and way she favored it were certainly detectable.

"I fear they will track me here... back when all this started, before I suspected their motives, they offered to send someone back here with word of my predicament, and I... I told them how to find the Bend. Triell told me no messenger ever came, but they will not have forgotten my words. They have everything they need to find this place...." she fell silent for the moment, thinking upon what might have been. If she had known what they were like then, had been able to see past their pleasant masks and veiled intentions, she might not have told them what they needed to know to find the Bend, put them in danger. She was quite tempted to blame herself for that, along with many other things. But then, they could have tracked her anyway - she hadn't had the time or luxury to lay a false trail or conceal her own, and what did choice did she have - to run away from it all? Not coming home was unthinkable. Perhaps if Jessie had not been off on a certain scouting mission, Nayeli might have asked her for her company that fateful day, and never found herself alone and at their mercy after all... there were a million ways things could have gone differently, for better or worse, and worrying about what might have been was useless.

"That's the short of it all, anyway. Is there anything else you'd like to know?", Nayeli asked after a moment, her silver gaze traveling back to search Jessie's, curious to see if it had softened at all, or hardened further still. The story held few more details than that which the rest of the pack would have heard, but Nayeli was reluctant to delve into every detail again - the way they had compelled her to stay in that hole in the ground stinking of herbs, how she'd feared she'd never see Triell or their children again on good days, and known it on bad days, how she had suspected how her own captivity played into Garmr's plans of restoring his bloodline, these were things she would not dredge back up into the light of day so readily. She longed to ask Jessie how the scouting scouting mission had gone, to leave this ugly topic behind, but it was right that they should discuss it, and so she waited to see how Jessie might respond, hesitant to hold her old friend's gaze for too long.

(This post was last modified: Mar 08, 2015, 08:06 AM by Nayeli.)

The Second strove to remain indifferent to her friend, staring at her as if she were a stranger, waiting for some kind of real explanation. The woman did not have to wait long for her Nayeli to launch into what had happened to her. The key points of the beginning made sense to Jessie, as did some in the end. As her former leader's tale wove in and out in front of Jessie, flowing with a certain gracefulness, the Tainn began to relax. Her body was quick to follow as she took a tentative seat where she was, her gaze still pinned on Nayeli, her gaze intriguing.  A thought occurred to her then, when her friend finished her story. That sign that she had found outside of the borders, surely...could that have been what Nayeli meant. She didn't want to startle the woman but she also didn't want to be keeping things from her. Unsure if Triell had even bothered telling her, Jessie decided to wait until the opportune time to say something about it, but remained quiet.

Sure, she had plenty of questions for her former alpha, but one stuck in her mind. One that had bothered her for quite some time and never failed to fester in her mind. Jessie hardly knew the reigning alpha female and hardly trusted her. The Scout had not received any good words of the current queen, and while the Tainn knew it was her duty to serve under her...it wasn't her duty to be content with it now that Nayeli had returned. Clearing her throat gently, Jessie glanced briefly at Nayeli's swollen paw before looking up to meet her eyes, "Once you are recovered, do you plan on claiming your place next to Triell once more?" She made sure that their eyes were locked. Jessie dare not say it out loud, but her eyes said enough for the two of them. Jessie wanted Nayeli back as their alpha. Someone she knew she could trust and take care of their Lord. He had been out of sorts since Nayeli's disappearance and it was time for the man to have some rightness in his life once again.

(This post was last modified: Mar 08, 2015, 04:33 AM by Jessie.)

Jessie's question cut right to the next point, leaving Nayeli only a little surprised by where she chose to steer the conversation. Perhaps she shouldn't have been at all. Leave it to Jessie not to mince words when something concerns her, she thought with a small smile, looking back at the silver woman. Stormy silver eyes met verdant green ones, trying to read one another without words.

Nayeli certainly did wish to regain her place in the Bend, including her old position at Triell's right side. However, a weak leader would only make the pack weak, and so far Nayeli had devoted her attention to recuperating and slowly testing out her old connections, seeing if they still held. If a pack does not trust in it's leaders, that also will lead to weakness, she mused. Right now, the Bend could not afford such a thing, and Nayeli was willing to swallow her own pride if it meant the Bend could be stronger and more united against them. But if Spieden had not earned the pack's loyalty, what then? How long could she afford to wait? "That is my wish, but only if the pack would have me," she answered after a long moment. Of the pack, Triell's opinion counted the most to Nayeli, and probably everyone else, for that matter. So far, such matters had been rather unspoken between them, but certainly not bad. They had been apart for the long winter, and though their bond seemed to have held strong both ways, there was healing to take place there as well. But Nayeli was concerned with how others might see things, too. Jessie was one of the Bend's most longstanding members, and she knew her to be a rather harsh and honest critic of others. Her opinion - supportive or not - would be a weighty one. Nayeli had been rather surprised to find the silvery woman not in charge in her lieu, but rather the relative newcomer, @Spieden. She knew very little about the other woman, or how she had come into the leading position, though Nayeli did believe she owed her a debt of gratitude for keeping the border well-kept and the pack, including her own children, safe from harm. "I would like to ask you about Spieden... I wish to know her better, but I must admit, right now I do not. Your opinion is probably more informed, and more trusted than most."

stock

(This post was last modified: Mar 08, 2015, 09:12 AM by Nayeli.)

The silver Scout watched her former charge closely, the answer she received the one that Jessie had been hoping for. With this new found information in mind, the Tainn approached Nayeli, making sure that the distance between them was much shorter before they continued on with the next part of their conversation. The worst thing that could happen was someone overhearing something that wasn't any of their business. Ever since she had returned, Jessie had not liked Spieden. Though, it was to say that Jessie was never one to get close to women. The only true friends that she had made that were female were Nayeli and Narimé, whom she didn't even know if they were on friendly terms anymore. The small woman made herself comfortable, her small ears flicking towards the other Tainn as she spoke again. At the mention of the woman, Jessie's lip curved upwards in disgust at the woman's name. Of course, Jessie would be bluntly honest with her friend, wanting to know precisely why she didn't like the Coho.

Her lips parted and words quickly flowed past Jessie easily, "I don't like her. If I hadn't been gone on that scouting trip, you might've never been kidnapped, or I would have at least been here to take her place. I know I'm not the best leading figure, but I could have at least remained there until a worthy replacement was found. She asks questions at inappropriate times and has no control over herself. Do you remember at the meeting..? She just burst out in anger, it was unwarranted at the time and an action of a subordinate. Hotei even handled the news better than her...and that's just...that's just fucking hard." She finished her tirade, her voice breaking into a much more informal tone, something that wasn't usual with the subordinate. She usually respected the decisions of her superiors, but right then, she knew she couldn't support Spieden. Jessie was sure that Triell knew it, but she had never formally told him that she didn't even respect what Spieden was doing. She wasn't doing anything bad, but she certainly wasn't doing anything well either. It was only a matter of time before Nayeli would step back into power.