homeward bound

@Hawking @Rahma

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^^The Maiden had, unwillingly, decided that she would make her way home. She hadn't been entirely unsuccessful but she hadn't been as successful as she would have liked. Teodora could at least take away the positive meeting she had with Valeska, the snow-wolf of the Mountains. The other woman had been sweet and caring, invested in listening to Teodora pour her heart out upon her encouragement. Teo hoped that they had departed as friends, someone she would be eager to return to visit if Celnes would let her. 

Teodora shivered slightly in the cool mountain breeze though it was not a proper chill, the afternoon warmer than most. The Maiden only hoped that Celnes would not be too disappointed in her, her creamy brows pulling together in worry at the thought of it. Perhaps she might look to find some unique flowers to bring her back, to soften the blow of finding out information but not other wolves to bring with her.

She suffered a worried sigh as her ghostly gaze swept across the ground as she walked, long legs carrying her gently. ^^

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 He'd left his first home, venturing out on the promise of becoming something more... but he couldn't find the buck. The strange deer with the eyeless cat was nowhere to be seen and he knew where they were supposed to be. How was he to become something more if he couldn't find them? How would he train if they weren't able to meet up? Had he taken too long? Was the offer long expired?

 He was in a foul temper because of it all. His brows pulled together in a frown, ears pulled back in annoyance as he growled low in his throat. Wolf-like, as the mother and father who'd raised him. They were here in a field of flowers and to his companion he said, "Let's stop here for a bit. I'll keep a lookout." It was an excuse to think of his own thoughts and ponder their next move. Rahma was who he was responsible for now. She was his lifeline and link and keeping her safe was his main priority. It was all he had right now.

 He eschewed the flowers, standing towards the edge of the field with his steel gaze overlooking the forest near them and the valley below. He sighed and tried not to let it bother him that the reason he'd left, the offer he'd taken, had now expired. He hoped that he hadn't dissapointed her too much.

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^^The Hawk had found her once again and told her a tale that seemed too good to be true, and alas, look at that, the buck in question had vanished in thin air. Almost as if he had not existed at all! This meant that, of course, only a number of things. Either he had never existed and the Hawk and manipulated her to come with him, or he had been here, been chased and fallen to a predator.

Rahma wasn’t sure which of those things she wanted to believe. Momma had taught her about predators and suddenly, her Momma was gone, and so was her sibling, and everyone she knew. Eaten, too, or mysteriously vanished like the Hawk’s bloke?

The piebald fawn narrowed her eyes as she could literally feel the anger steaming off of him, and glad for an excuse to pause to graze. She hadn’t thought of herself as his lifeline, nor did she think of him as hers - she barely knew him, afterall.

So she grazed on flowers, and with a sigh, shook her head. She’d opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it. She didn’t need to know him; he didn’t need to know her. It was easier that way, wasn’t it? To be shut off, so when the predators got him, too, she wouldn’t feel that hole in her chest, like she did for her momma?

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^^

It was a scent she knew well. Not the specifics, of course, but she knew deer when she smelt it. How could she not when they shared her home so peacefully? Momentarily she thought of Vaskien and grew sad, her ghostly gaze glistening with her sadness but when they landed upon the duo, they brightened. They were darling to look at and hope blossomed in her chest; perhaps she could do better than wolves. She knew, though, that deer outside of their home wouldn't know that she was not a threat to them so the leggy wolf drew herself not too near and kept her body language calm and welcoming.

"Hello, loves, are you lost?" Teo cooed softly in question, a warm smile settled on her lips as her tail gave a tentative wag behind her.

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 She didn't bother him and that was probably for the best, in his eyes. It helped him focus on keeping a lookout and what reason did they need to talk? What would they even talk about? How he'd failed? How he was wrong? How he'd been fooled?

 How he had no idea what to do now? That he was afraid he was going to get her killed? What would his father say? What would his mother say? They would be so disappointed in him...

 He heard the crackling of undergrowth and his head snapped around to look at who it had been. A brown wolf, tall and lean. She didn't seem aggressive and because of that he wouldn't be aggressive either. He could stave off his foul mood to keep them out of trouble. He glanced back at Rahma, a reassuring look to let her know that he could handle this. He knew she wasn't nearly as trustworthy of wolves as he was but if push came to shove, he'd attack the wolf and give the doe a chance to escape... but he had a feeling that it wouldn't go that way.

 "We're not lost." Not completely a lie. He knew where he was, more-or-less, he just didn't know where he should take them next now that the other plan had fallen through. He stood tall, radiating confidence and not fear. Fear could get you killed around predators although too much bravado might make them attack you. It was a delicate balance. "We're traveling." A pause as he was unsure of how much he should tell her. He could smell the pack scent on her and he wondered if they were in danger or if these could be friends. "Is your pack around here?"

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^^The little princess hated, and I mean, really hated the fact that Hawking was a self proclaimed Wolf Whisperer. Yet also, there was some silly, stupid sense of secruity there, but it wasn’t as if a talking prey would stop a predator from eating them.

Rahma would certainly still eat a leaf even if it tried to make conversation with her, that was for sure! Food was food, and it was survival of the fittest, or whatever. Hawking gave her some sort of look, and she returned it with a blank expression and the shake of her head as she took some steps away from them to let the adults talk.

Let him get killed for talking to the enemy, she didn’t care.

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^^

It was easy to see who was more confident here, though Teodora did not judge the Doe for choosing to keep away and keep quiet; she was a wolf. Their natural predator but she could only hope that the stag, in his ease at responding to her, could see by her body language that she meant no harm. Gods, could you imagine?! Hurting one of the Sacred, even if they were not within Elkshire's claim. It was... distasteful at the least. Not lost, he said and Teodora nodded; perhaps they were simply migrating. Was that the time of year for it? Did deer even migrate? Travelling, he clarified and Teodora's tail wagged behind her as he asked after the location of her Pack.

"Not quite," she cooed softly, "further South, past the Mountains. I am on my way home after a time away." What else could she do to reassure the Stag and Doe that she meant no harm? "My name is Teodora, Teodora of Elkshire," giving more information about herself might help the duo to humanise her more, instead of thinking she was simply a predator. She was friend shaped, thank you very much. Perhaps he would take note of Elk in the name and be curious or even at ease that wolves would be named after something so similar to himself.^^

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 Further south, the temperate area. He'd been there briefly before with his mother, he knew of one of the packs, even although had never formally met them himself. Although, when she spoke the name his ears perked in interest. Elkshire. That was hopeful and he knew that their luck might have just picked up again. "Elkshire. My father spoke of you all, he visited a while ago from our pack, Event Horizon." He was young and never knew all of the details but he knew what they thought of cervids. He wondered if she knew of Event Horizon before it was disbanded. "He said you all think highly of deer." Which was very good for them, his tai even did a slow "wag" much like a wolf's would.

 "My name is Hawking and this is Rahma." And he knew their best bet might be to go along with this wolf and get setup in Elkshire. They would be proected and he would likely be able to train with wolves and deer alike. "I... I've always wanted to train. To become a warrior..." He trailed off, wondering if that could be offered in her home.

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^^

Like his own, Teodora's ears perked in interest as he spoke of Elkshire with some familiarity -- his father, from Event Horizon, Pack. Was he a stag who had been brought up in a Pack? How... interesting! That was good, then, for he was familiar with wolves who did not seek to eat him. She knew not of the Pack but her smile still decorated her features with a warmth, "he's correct! It is something of a... religion, to the Queen and her family and even to some of those not born of Deorwine blood." She revealed, happy to know they had some common ground. "We do not hunt nor eat deer, it is... of great disrespect," she may not follow the religion as Celnes did however Teodora could not even think of attempting to hunt a deer -- especially not with how she had known Vaskian.

"Hawking, Rahma, it is a pleasure to meet you both," the leggy she-wolf cooed merrily, her head tilting to the side as Hawking brought forth one of his desires and she smiled again, bright and accepting, "well, you would be in luck with Elkshire..." she trailed off, a mischevious smile on her lips, "deer are thought of mighty Warriors, especially with those antlers of yours." Just because they were not hunted nor eaten, did not make them jobless or unable to live a life that they so wanted with Elkshire. "And you, Rahma, can be what you would like, too," Teo reassured the other, more silent Doe.

Her ghostly gaze was hopeful as she stared at the two. ^^

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^^Despite not speaking to the predator, and despite that Hawking signaled that he would speak on their behalf - they were both oddly polite enough to include her into the conversation instead of speaking like she wasn’t there at all.

Rahma’s suspicions about the dark female wolf from before (Harper) were more or less confirmed when Hawking spoke of his father’s pack which led Rahma to also believe that he’d been raised by wolves. It made sense, then, wouldn’t it?

And then this female wolf was talking about how they didn’t hunt deer, and Rahma might have been fooled, but that mischievous smile caused Rahma’s eyes to narrow. Her gut was telling her not to trust the wolf - but one did not name themselves Elkshire if they did not worship an Elk. Ah, too bad they weren’t elk, then.

She could be whatever she wanted to be and for the vast majority of her life, all she’d wanted to be was safe. She had never been given a choice of what she wanted to become. There was a bit of a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

“What roles do the other doe in your.. Kingdom.. take?”

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 A religion. Of great disrespect. That was like music to his ears. They would be quite safe there, it seemed, unless this was all some sort of elaborate ruse. If that was the case, he would be sure to try to spear at least one before they came down around him. He nodded in understanding, coming to trust the woman a bit more. He flicked an ear contemplatively, pondering everything.

 ”Likewise, Teodora.” He said politely and then the million dollar answer came. He could train in Elkshire. Just as he wanted. Hope shone in his gaze as he realized that this might not be a wasted effort. That he hadn’t sentenced them to death. ”Then I think, I would like to go there. And you, Rahma?” He glanced down at Rahma for a final confirmation for if she said no then he would too out of principle. He wanted to get her somewhere safe and if she passed then so too would he. But really, what more did they have to lose? A pack to live within would be the best case scenario, she could be whatever she would like as could he. It was a good replacement for what the stag had promised him. His foul temper had been alleviated, as now there was something to look forward to. Even his tail began a slow wag, wolflike, at the news.

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^^

The doe broke her silence in favour of a question and Teodora's smile was vibrant and warm, welcoming as she let her ghostly gaze focus on the woman in question. "Why, you can be whatever you so wish to be," Teo answered softly, "we have had does come and go but never truly have they settled with us, opting to migrate on." She smiled, hoping to reassure the Doe that her possibilities were not void. "If you don't wish to be a Bearbuck -- a warrior -- with Hawking, you might find your calling elsewhere. Wherever you wish to learn and grow, we can help you." Teodora was certain Celnes would not stop the Doe from doing as she wanted, from thriving within their ranks.

Hawking's words had her smile blossoming further, reaching her ghostly gaze -- something such a rarity these days -- and she wagged her tail, "I would be honoured to bring you home, Hawking, Rahma," she looked back to the Doe, "if you desire." They had choices and Teodora would never force them. ^^

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^^It came as no surprise to find that Hawking would want to go with her - but the question he posed to her caused her to blink over at him. What did he care where she’d gone? What did… any of them care? Rahma was unaware that he was so loyal to her that he would turn down the life he wanted just to be with her. Or maybe she knew, but was just somehow blind to it, in her anger of the entire world.

Perhaps it was both.

The wolf was warm and welcoming - everything she was ever taught that a wolf was not. Was it a ploy to get them inside to tear them apart? Why would she lie about just things, and just not kill them here and now?

“I would like to meet with others of our kind that live with you, to prove what you say to be true, then I will make my judgement.”

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 And it seemed that they would be going to their new home... at least temporarily if things didn't work out and Rahma wanted to leave. He would look at the wolf and nod his head, the answer clear. A visit with their native deer and perhaps their pack leader as well to make the final decision. "We will go with you then and we'll speak with the other deer that are with you." Hawking did not need to speak with them himself but would visit anyway to see. He was ready to make the trek and head into their new lives. Hopefully this too would not be a bust.

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