maelstrom

i am hoping for him to join vanderfell!
@Ira @Hieronymous

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Always misplaced, always awoken in the strange and odd places.

He had not started where he stood now. It had been some strings of trees and a river, he had moved along it until his legs felt like they might melt beneath him.

How many times would he have the world change around him? How many times would he grasp something and lose it in what felt like a hazy dream? Had anything ever been?

Surely it had, but it all felt distant now.

He wished to grapple the physical world with might and awe, so that it would not leave him so suddenly again. Which meant he must plant roots, he fretted, and fast. Else it might happen all over again. Perhaps he was given a chance in the way the borders crept along his senses, a sign if he dared to believe.

His head tipped back and he called out warmly into the morning air, while he stood respectfully at their lines.

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also kind of...soft-resetting solare bc he's fallen through so many times now, magic hand-wavy i guess. nothing is really changing besides some gender (not sex, just gender!) stuff

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Welcome back!

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Ira was occupied with their newborns. This meant that it was up to him to go and greet the call at the borders that rang out for them. Dropping off some food for Ira, Hiero didn't waste much time. He didn't recognize the call, and carefully picked the quickest route to where the sound had come from.

The little limp he sported since the hunt before their wedding had become the new norm. No longer did the hitch in his back leg bring much attention from him even when climbing and snaking down the rocky terrain brought more strain to it and making the limb feel numbly stiff.

“Greetings stranger!” He called out first before approaching with a relaxed gate, and a friendly, warm smile on his face. “I'm Hieronymous, High King of these mountains. You called for an audience?”

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It seemed he did not need to wait long.

A man came, dusted in the colors of the land. A tear between winter and spring. Softly scarred too! He wondered if he had come to a place of grand warriors — and worried next for if he would ever fit in among them.

Yet the voice was light and warm. The man was a High King and no matter his lifetime or switching states of life, he was always bound to bowing to royalty. Perhaps not as dramatically as he once would have, but his head still dipped down low all the same.

“I did — and I am Solare.” His own voice was warm and hopeful. “I would like to settle roots for good. I seem to keep...losing myself among the world.”

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The good news was that the stranger, now named Solare, was chipper and friendly as well upon initial meetings. Hieronymous smiled as the other introduced themselves and explained why they called for Ira and himself. Nodding softly along, he paid close attention.

“And do you think joining Vanderfell will root you for a while?” They had many come and go. Some vanished, others found greener pastures elsewhere - they had to make sure a few would at least remain for longer than just a few weeks or a couple of months.

“I must ask what you can offer for us? What kind of route do you seek? We focus on bringing out the best of our civilians, and must know what we can expect from you.” If it were up to Hiero and he alone, if this was his pack he would have just welcomed Solare no questioned asked - but Ira preferred to question them. To know them better and their worth; and out of respect for his wife and High Queen, he would do the same.

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mobile post, will format later!

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“I hope it will root me for good.”

Not a while, he wished for a permanence. He wished and willed the universe to let him have this one stability in his life for long than a few weeks. When was the last time he had experienced such?

“I once offered more whimsical things,” He still could, he just feared it might cause him to drift. That the universe might send him off once more. “I'd like to become more physical now. I know how to roam to pass messages and I know how to coordinate events for such things.”

His cheeks warmed soft and for a moment his gaze became boyish.

“Perhaps I will spar under the name of Vanderfell too?”

He had only ever watched others do such a thing, but he was bound to learn sometime.

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As far as Hieronymous was concerned, Solare was a good fit for Vanderfell (but really who wasn't according to him). He listened with ears drawn forward to the introduction. At the boyish shyness of the young man, Hiero smiled. A warm welcoming grin that already told of his answer for a while now in regards to whether or not this one was welcome amongst them.

“I welcome whimsy, Solare.” he jested at first. After all, he was more of a jester than a king as far as he was concerned. Fun and games were more of his thing than serious matters. Perhaps that is what made him and Ira such a formidable pair. Something that had now lasted years. “We could use a messenger if roaming is more of your thing; but don't lose your whimsy, I enjoy some companionship with my shenanigans.” he boomed with laughter, trying to assure the man that he wasn't the more serious of the two that lead the pack he was requesting to join.

“My wife, Ira, and I would be honoured to spar with you. Please, let me show you around our mountain. Welcome to Vanderfell.” Turning his back on the border, his tail swaying from one end to the other in one smooth motion, and a glance over his shoulder with that same smile to encourage Solare to follow him deeper into the territory. “I will show you around and announce your presence to the High Queen - she is with our puppies right now and may not be able to welcome you for a few more weeks I'm afraid.”

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