What a strange, cold world he had stumbled upon. The red youth walked casually across the last of the sandy bridge, pausing as the sides of the red rock rose up on either side of him. Bright green eyes shifted over the stone, curious if it was worthy of being called home.. or if it was even suitable for him to rest in. The peaks of the mountainous ridges were cloaked white with snow but if he squinted further down he was sure he could see some sort of caverns or maybe they were just overhangs. Either way, the sun would be sinking within a few hours and the temperature would get worse.

The boy would shiver as a gust of wind cut into his coat. He was used to the cold, but the wind… it ruffled his fur the wrong way and left him shivering as it stole some of his warmth. A sigh would form, escaping with a puff of pale white vapor from his jaws as he continued walking, leaving tracks here and there in a mixture of snow and dirt. He should care that he left them, but the boy was cold, tired and for the first time in awhile- he was hungry. The sandy bridge had not offered much in the way of food so today he had gone hungry. Still, if one looked at the maroon boy they would find that he was plump enough to miss a meal if need be, he was a decent scavenger and an okay hunter of mice and other small creatures. The lands before this had treated him well. Hopefully this land would be the same.


—will make pretty when I’m home. Phone posts till then. —

you made your
sceptre with the
bones you've broken

Maybe making the trek this far south in the dead of winter to try and recruit those seeking warmth and shelter to and even colder place was a fools errand, but Morrigan did it all the same. If nothing else, she told herself, she could survey just how bad the weather had gotten in the most southern reaches and perhaps gauge just what they were in for in the north.

She found no adults waiting at the passage this time, but instead a boy the color of blood offset by emerald eyes. He looked cold, but so did probably anyone outside of a warm den at the moment. She could offer food as well, but no doubt so would others who were much closer. "Hello, are you seeking shelter or just passing through?" she asked @Azanty as she approached him.

Either way, she'd been around enough to at least offer him wisdom or point him in the right direction.

table by ferus, art by grav3wolf

"Speech."

He wasn’t lonely long, the solitude shattered in a heart hammering moment as another lion approached. Slitted eyes would narrow slightly, ears flicking back with uncertainty as the dark creature grew closer. Azanty had been alone long enough to know that strangers were dangerous and he had to tread carefully around them. The boy would retreat a few steps as the lioness came to a stop, making it clear that he liked distance between them. He was now far enough away from her that they could speak normally but he could react if she tried anything.

She would speak, fuck me. He thought to himself, trying to understand the words she spoke. He knew some words like shelter and hello. " “Rytsas” (hello). He would nod his head, accent thick and heavy. " “Where?” He would gesture around them, where were they? What was this place called? It sucked having a language barrier with foreigners…but he was beginning to get used to it. This wasn’t the first stranger he had met and he was confident it wouldn’t be the last either.


@Morrigan

code by corvus

you made your
sceptre with the
bones you've broken

As the dark warrior approached, scarred visage attempting to soften as much her nature allowed, the boy showed a sensible caution in backing away. A note of approval at this disposition sparked in her purple and silver gaze. He spoke with a harsh accent in a language she did not understand, but he seemed to be able to bridge enough of her own language to ask where he was. "Amaryllis," she said with her own gesture around her before looking back at the gap she had come from. "Morrigan Greyflood," she said, gesturing to herself now. "High Queen of one of its Kingdoms." She didn't know how much he would understand of her words, but she endeavor to keep it simple all the same. @Azanty

table by ferus, art by grav3wolf

"Speech."

She would try to soften her appearance, making herself seem less intimidating but one could only do so much when they were so scarred from fighting. He would note the flicker of approval in her mismatched gaze but it would only cause an ear to fall back in uncertainty. Was he being judged? If so, for what? How smart he was? How would she know when they didn’t even speak the same language- not entirely anyway.

She would speak, gesturing around her as she spoke a word. Amaryllis. The boy would mouth the word, tasting it on his tongue before he would nod. So that was what this new land was called. The woman would speak again, gesturing to herself as she did. “Aoha brozi iksos Morrigan Greyflood..” His sharp and heavy accent would come forth, ‘your name is Morrigan Greyflood’, the boy would gesture to her to hopefully help her understand before he would turn the paw to himself. “Nuha brozi Azanty issa.” He would introduce himself, ‘my name is Azanty. For a moment excitement would filter into his tones, excited that he could at the very least somewhat communicate with the woman. That excitement would quickly fade, however, as she spoke again.

The smile that had begun to pull at his lips would falter and his brows would pull together, he did not understand what she was saying about leading and kingdoms. He tried to decipher by the words he did know…which turned out to really only be ‘queen’ but he was not entirely sure if he understood her right. In his homeland, there were no ‘queens’ and the term was infrequently used with rogues.

As the wind blew, the boy would shifter slightly, irritated with how it cut through his coat and touched his skin. “Cold.” He laughed shyly, though he was cold, he also wanted to gauge how motherly the woman was. Would she sympathize with him and offer him shelter? Would she feed him? It’d be nice to not have to hunt for his food…for once.

@Morrigan

code by corvus

you made your
sceptre with the
bones you've broken

It was a shame that she could not recognize his language at all, otherwise she might have at least been able to seek out a translator. "Azanty," she echoed, letting him know she understood that much at least. After the initial elation at being able to share each other's names at least, there was little else they seemed to be able to convey. Morrigan pursed her lips and looked around as if she could find something to help her suddenly understand the boy.

Looking down she shrugged and began attempting to draw some semblance of what she thought was the layout of Amaryllis, but the Greyflood was no pathfinder. Hard to say if it was correct at all really. She sectioned the shape off by marking with her claws ten places where there was vaguely a kingdom as well as pointing out where they were. "My home," she would say before gesturing to the earth and then to herself.

"Cold," she admitted, "But safe. With me." Maybe she could get him to understand her enough to come with her at least long enough to get a night's sleep and a meal.

table by ferus, art by grav3wolf

"Speech."

Alright, language barriers sucked. He hated not speaking the common tongue anywhere. At first it had been entertaining, mostly because it gave others a reason to leave him alone. Now he was finding it to be quite irritating. She would say his name, repeating it, and he would nod eagerly, but he did not repeat it again. After a moment she would look around and then shrug, doing something with the dirt. His brow furrowed, body straightening up more so that he could make himself a bit taller so he could better see what she was doing. It didn’t work.

Warily, he would move a few steps closer, coming only as close as he needed to so that he could see the odd map that she drew. Her words would come and his brow would furrow, looking from one side of the map that she pointed to and then to the other side. " “Homme?” He would repeat, before saying again. “Lenton..” He’d gesture again. Home. When she mentioned cold, he would nod, thinking she was asking if he was cold. That was not what she meant, he would soon find out. He would nod again, though he did not fully understand. " “I…go?” Was that the right word? He remembered it in his travels but he really wasn’t sure how it had been used.

@Morrigan

code by corvus

you made your
sceptre with the
bones you've broken

Morrigan did not know how she intended to break this language barrier in the future, but it was a problem she set aside for another time as he seemed to at least grasp that she offered him an invitation. Whether he would be happy with the prospects once he saw them would be a different story. She nodded and gestured toward herself once more before looking toward that path that led deeper into Amaryllis. "Yes, home." Given his age, he wouldn't have to linger there long if he didn't want to anyway, but Morrigan hoped he could be convinced to stay long enough to regain his strength and she knew Talisa would have no qualms about adding another cub to their roster potentially either. She would take a few steps before seeing if @Azanty was following, though not trying to smother the cautious boy with closeness either before she began to lead the way to the Summit. If he got too tired they would stop off for the night but either way, he was now safe. exit morrigan with azanty

table by ferus, art by grav3wolf

"Speech." She would agree, home. He nodded and shifted his weight, ready to follow… but at a distant. Still wary of the stranger that offered to take him somewhere he could rest and be rid of the cold. The lioness would take a few steps, pausing to see if he followed and he would, cautiously. The maroon boy would prefer to walk a few feet to her left, aligned with her hip. He did not try to talk much, instead he would focus his attention on the surroundings they passed as she led him to a new place- a new home. If on the occasion he did have a question he would chuff and nod with his head, cocking it sideways in curiosity and question in hopes that she wound understand and explain what it was that he pointed toward.

He’d learn this language… in time.

-exit with morrigan —

code by corvus