i see your bones underneath

memories of how he'd gotten here ...are unclear. hazy.

when hawkinge attempts to grasp them, the elkblessed finds that they slip away like trying to grasp smoke betwixt his teeth where they linger like sour, tangy, metallic ashes upon his tongue.

the elkblessed takes in a deep breath, drawing in the sweet scent of apples and wisteria blooms that color the green of the grasses and mosses, and browns of the treebark. there is nothing about this territory that looks nor smells familiar. a nagging feeling of foreignness settles heavy upon his shoulders which haunch with caution as he picks his way along the woodland path with heavy footfalls.

in the distance, a call rises. his guard hairs prickle with unease and then lay with a sense of relief. he recognizes the call as distinctly elk and eagerly pursues it without any of the hesitation that had plagued him moments ago. the elk were holy, they were gods and so obviously he had missed it in his wakening; they had led him here. still, they were guiding him and blindly; he follows.

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^^

She wasn't feeling her best, whether it be grief or the way her belly rolled with unease she did not know but the maiden had been cursed with restless bones since the entire ordeal. Teodora swept quietly through the wisteria's, the colours tickling her fur as they draped along her spine with each step that she had taken. 

What her bones wished for her to do she did not know, she only knew that she was unsettled and riddled with grief so that meant she was on a mission to keep her mind off of the recent loss. Teodora suffered a gentle sigh as she nose an apple as it hung from the branches, unaware that someone was moving within the trees the same as she. ^^

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though disorientation lingers like a sailor who has just stepped on land for the first time in months; it dissipates with every step in the direction the single, ghostly call had risen. there are no scents of elk that linger and hawkinge cannot help but wonder if perhaps it had been meant only for him.

he does not linger upon this thought for terribly long as his attention is drawn by the soft sound of teeth splicing thru apple. it's a curious, if not unique sort of crunch and wishing with baited breath that it was his elk guide he moves in it's directly, shrugging through the hanging wisterias only to pause; visibly hesitating as yellow gaze falls upon the stranger.

not elk.

and while that was a bit disappointing, the elkblessed is quick to push it aside in favor of letting out a small chuff to garner her attention. she was of his own ilk and suddenly it feels rather like he's gone lifetimes without another to talk to. he is inexplicably desperate for conversation, for answers ...even if there were no answers to be had.

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She hadn't expected company. Despite knowing that wolves of Elkshire often walked through these woodlands, the restless maiden hadn't expected another. She paused as wisteria tickled her crown, casting her ghostly gaze to the stranger -- stranger being the key word for they did not hold the scent of Elkshire on their fur nor were their features familiar to Teo.

"Oh," Teodora breathed in momentary surprise as she noted the tones of his fur, something that she knew @Célnes would only be too happy to see. "Hello," the maiden greeted softly, tucking her tail tightly against her haunches as she watched him. "I have not seen you before," Teo hedged curiously, not scenting a touch of Nightwalkers upon their fur either so this was no messenger sent from the Warlord to Elkshire but a stranger in their complete form.

She felt oddly exposed amongst the wisteria, the social butterfly in her having been dormant for the last few days since the grief had cast itself upon the Elk's Crown. ^^

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to his surprise and delight in equal measure, she speaks; though for a moment the elkblessed worried that she might not. he had not meant to startle and he couldn't be sure wolves would be friendly here ...where ever exactly here was. just another question to add to his already towering tower. they bubble and burn in his throat but he does not allow them to breach his lips. not yet. not so fresh into this new conversation. ❝hello,❞ he breathes in return; tentative.

so far, she does not give him any inclinations of hostility. still, despite his desperation for some sort of conversation he remains ever weary.

❝no,❞ a small pause is given. ❝i just ...arrived here.❞ the small hesitation over his wording might sound strange but there was no other way that he could see to describe the strange way in which he'd just woke up here.

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It wasn't unusual for plain walkers to show up.. Once upon a time it had been many of her cousins and otherwise those of the Deorwine lineage ; but since then such a fad has faded, and wondered if a curse had followed once she was betrayed by her own. What a surprise came when she saw Hawkinge, a distant cousin — Celnes couldn't remember which side in particular he hailed from, but nonetheless was of the lineage of her own. She swayed by Teodora, smiling at the beauty before looking at him in a mild amazement.

"Cousin," she said, "what a surprise."

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The light hesitation of his words made Teodora understand quite quickly that like her and many others, his arrival had not been of the normal sort. She smiled softly, tucking her tail nervously against her flank but silent she did not remain. "Oh, that's quite all right," she reassured, "you would not be the first." Teodora wasn't sure if he was a non-believer of the way he had arrived, living in denial and so she answered him vaguely, wondering if he might expand on it or whether it would be lost between them.

@Célnes arrival was not unexpected, someone not of Elkshire was within their somewhat claim and she was likely to come and investigate -- but it was the use of cousin that threw her. Her smile that had been in greeting towards the Earthen Queen had frozen, stunned as she cast her ghostly gaze towards this Hawkinge. Cousin! One of Deorwine blood.

She smiled shyly, nervously, falling silent. ^^

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