It had been several weeks since she had left her home for the waters. Fenella had stayed with her mother as the world changed around them quickly more than a couple of times, having watched her friends and family leave or be frozen time as stone statues while the world changed around them. The time had come for her to do the same. It felt right.
Fenella’s adventures had taken her to the water. She left her mother and the pack via the sea and had rarely touched land since then. Her intention was to find the homeland of her father that she had only heard in stories. His illusions of light and words offered her what she had originally hoped would be enough to go off of. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize just how much of the deep waters looked the same.
Whenever she found a small island to rest at, she would and found herself often gazing at the stars above. She could find her way home that way, she knew she could. But as the days went on, things began to change. While the ocean life tended to remain much of the same, the stars started to shift the further from home she went. They changed in ways she hadn’t even noticed at first until it was much too late. She didn’t know where she was.
By the time Fenella reached land again, it was mid-morning, not having known just how close to land she had been that night before. She exited the water as the tide lowered and laid down at the water’s edge. Fenella sighed at the sun’s warmth and rested, her body fit and toned, but clearly tired from her journey. She would explore this land in time. After all, if the stars were now foreign to her, she needed to regain her bearings before continuing her search.
Patrolling the lands was a rather tiresome task, Caedwyn had decided. He had always enjoyed wandering and exploring, but he wanted more than just going here and there each day. He wanted to actually enjoy his time and get busy setting up the pack they were forming. But right now all it seemed he was doing was walking around for miles each day looking for anyone he could meet, just to inform them that they were now part of his pack. It seemed rather preposterous, almost like he'd made the whole thing up. Unfortunately patrolling was necessary right now. He just didn't particularly enjoy this part. At least today he had chosen a rather enjoyable place to wander near the sea, where the cool morning air whisked in from the waters with a salty taste and the slight scent of fish and seaweed.
As he wandered down the beach near the water something ahead of him caught his interest. His footsteps stopped as he focused, making out the shape of another wolf on the beach. A little smile came to his maw. Today wasn't going to be all bad. He had something interesting to do now. Picking up his pace, he moved forward toward the other. It was a female with a pale-backed pelt. She seemed slightly familiar, but Caedwyn had seen many wolves during his travels so the though of her appearance didn't linger in his mind even in the slightest. He was more concerned with approaching her and recruiting her to his ranks.
Coming up, he lived his head and observed how she was laying right at the waters edge. "Been swimming?" he said, announcing his presence in case she hadn't already noticed him.
After a short while, it was clear that she was no longer alone at the shoreline. Fenella’s body tensed where she laid, but she didn’t move outside of lifting her head when she caught the sound of shifting sand. It was a larger male. Well, at least she was close to the water, so she knew she had an escape route if he posed a threat. He asked a simple question of her and she couldn’t help but huff and give him a look that clearly said what she was thinking. Isn’t that obvious?
Fenella moved to a standing position as she responded with unplanned sarcasm, "Only for a few weeks.” She shook herself off then, letting whatever water and sand that stuck to her fur go flying before giving him a once-over. He was scarred and had to be older than her, but he didn’t look familiar. Nor should he, she figured. After all, this was a new land.
She glanced back out to the sea before returning her gaze to him. ”If this shore is part of your territory, I’ll leave without issue. I just needed a place to rest briefly while I got my bearings.” The waves nipped at her heels as they came in and out, reminding her of her escape route, but her eyes remained on the stranger.
The sarcasm he was met with surprised him and he wasn't sure if it was sarcasm or just straight up annoyance at him. She answered, mentioning something about weeks, and then shook. Little bits of sand and water went flying, leaving him squinting and turning his head away slightly as little bits landed in his face. He wasn't sure if she'd done that on purpose to spite him or if it was simply bad luck that he'd been standing too close. With a slightly less amused face he turned back to her when she'd finished shaking. He thought about what she'd said, 'weeks.' He wondered if she just really enjoyed swimming or if she'd been travelling. Or maybe she was making some sort of joke at his expense that he didn't understand. It didn't really make sense to him. Thankfully she continued and her words shed a bit of light on the situation. Ah, she'd been travelling after all it seemed.
"It is indeed my territory, but there's no need to rush off," he said, pushing aside his slight irritation at the earlier spraying of sand and water into his face. His tone was friendly enough and he gave his tail a soft wag to be inviting to her. "This is a good a place as any to rest for a bit before you head of to... to... " he paused thoughtfully, his voice growing inquisitive. "... well to wherever it is you're going. Is it a place nearby? You said you needed to get your bearings? Hmm..." He paused once more, lowering his rump down onto the sand to sit. He didn't normally do such a thing with strangers, as sitting left him less prepared for attack should things turn hostile. But she didn't seem overtly threatening and Caedwyn had a motive for his actions. He wanted to build her trust, not only to gain information but also because he was still recruiting wolves to the pack. "Does that mean to say you don't already have your bearings and are in fact lost?" He decided to just come right out and say it. There were many wolves who he'd come across that were lost, or had been lost for some time. He had been one of those same lost wolves. If she was new here, he wondered if she had figured out that there was no leaving this place. Or maybe he was wrong entirely and she wasn't lost... Maybe she'd lived her whole life in this land and was simply passing through. Either way, he hoped to get information out of her.
So it wasn't just the territory he lived in but his territory? Great. She couldn't help but cringe inwardly, but did her best to maintain a neutral expression. He wasn't treating her like a threat because she hadn't acted like one. She just needed to continue not being one… not like she could fight him even if she wanted to. He was larger and clearly built for it more than her slim form was.
He acted friendlier then, but that didn't mean she would relax. She watched as he sat and listened in silence, only moving enough to feel the comfort of sand beneath her paws in a small shift of weight. As he brought up the idea she was lost, Fenella had to consciously stop herself from huffing again. Even though she normally had pride in her skills, she knew it wouldn't be wise to act cocky about it. She didn't want to say anything more than she needed to the stranger. If he was a pack leader, he must be respected here, right? Maybe he had more knowledge of these seas than she did.
"I've been keeping track of my path through the sea by the stars," she started, then sighed a bit before continuing, "They changed about a week ago to constellations that aren't familiar. I'm looking for a specific island, but this one doesn't match the description. I just need to figure out which way is north and I can be on my way, sir."
The "sir" was intentional and in no way sarcastic for her due to his rank. She knew she must speak the truth, even if she omitted her reasoning why she was traveling in the first place or risk being chased out if he saw her actions or words as a threat or an offense. Fenella continued to remain still, her mostly silvery-white eyes stuck on the stranger's form. She held no expectations of remaining on the shore or being permitted to explore someone else's territory out of pure curiosity. She just wanted to find her father's homeland.. and maybe a cure for him there, if it existed.
Caedwyn was intrigued at the mention of unfamiliar stars. The story of her journey here sounded similar to so many others he'd heard as he travelled around the lands. He himself had somehow wandered here only to realize that this place was unfamiliar and despite all his searching, he couldn't re-trace his path back to where he'd came. Even if the girl didn't know it, Caedwyn already knew the truth: she wasn't leaving this place. He was half tempted to tell her his conclusion but he doubted she would believe it. He knew he wouldn't have believed such a thing if he'd heard it when he first got here. It would be a waste of time to converse on such things, so he decided to steer the conversation in a different direction. "Stars?" He said thoughtfully, looking up to the sky above. It was daytime but the motion was more of an act than genuine. "I've heard the stars around here can be a bit strange."
He figured making some idle conversation with the girl was good for now. He needed to warm her up a bit while he figured out how to break the news to her that no amount of searching would let her find the place she was looking for. Although, maybe it wasn't totally impossible. He'd heard some wolves disappeared from the lands completely, but how that worked he wasn't entirely sure. So he torn between trying to convince her that the search was futile or standing idly by. He did consciously decide not to answer her request for directions. He didn't want her running off quite so suddenly. "An island you say? There are a few islands around. How will you know if you're at the right one?"
Fenella cautiously watched him glance at the sky and listened quietly to his reply. The stars here were actually strange? Curious. The fact that it was a known thing must mean something, she figured, but what it meant, she had no clue. Perhaps it would be a good idea to find a safe place offshore to study the skies away from prying eyes.
Her ears twitched at the news that there were a few islands around. Maybe… maybe she was headed in the right direction? Her father had never mentioned a larger land near the island, though. She was skeptical, but it would still be worth it to find out more. ”The island is mostly surrounded by cliffs and there are distinct plants and life underwater that I would recognize.“
Fenella kept her gaze on the stranger, the so-called pack leader, and adjusted her footing slightly. The small waves that grazed her legs pulled at her and the sand beneath her paws, but as long as she was in the waters, she could move to her advantage. The argument could even be made that she no longer remained in pack territory if she moved further out into the waters, as well, but she kept that idea close to herself.
An island surrounded by cliffs... Caedwyn thought about it for a moment. She'd offered little details to identify the place other than 'cliffs' and 'underwater plants' - something Caedwyn knew very little about even if she had offered details. He tried to think if such a place was around here, though he doubted it was. So many he'd met had ended up here unintentionally that he figured the same must have been for this girl. "Well, there are bluffs up north of here, a few days travel I'd say," he mused aloud in a helpful tone. "But I'm not sure what sorts of terrain the sea has near there, nor islands. There is a large bay to the east of here that might have a more welcoming underwater habitat, but I don't tend to do much exploring underwater myself. No gills..." He shrugged a little, turning his neck to the side as to show her he was not equipped for underwater life. "But you seem pretty confident you can identify what you're looking for. I take it you must be more familiar with such things? a student of herbology? Or maybe just these plants you're looking for are familiar to you?"
At this point he wasn't so much drilling for information now as simply making conversation. He'd already played out this scenario in his head. The female seemed keen on finding her way to wherever-it-was she was looking for, and he doubted she'd actually find it (unless by some miraculous chance this place was actually part of the Realm). At that point he figured she'd continue searching for awhile, only to realize that she - like so many others - were trapped in this place. Finally, when that realization sunk in, she'd have to make a home here. That was what Caedwyn was waiting on. That inevitable path out in the future that would land her squarely in his domain. But it was a waiting game and he needed to play things right for them to get there. He didn't want to go making an enemy of her now only to squander this future opportunity.
"I don't think I caught your name," he added finally, shifting his weight a bit before pacing around on the sand and lowering himself down into a sitting position. He hadn't really noticed how she'd backed herself up to the water - or at least, he could see it but hadn't realized she was doing so from a defensive standpoint. "I suppose I should introduce myself first though - seeing as it looks like you'll be exploring my territory for this mysterious island of yours..." He smiled a bit at her in a teasing manner. " I am Caedwyn, the ruler of these lands - from the northern ice mountains to the southern deserts. All within the Realm are within my rule. And you are?"
Fenella nodded silently at the information. It didn’t stop his questions, but at least it was a bit easier of a topic to navigate. ”The area is familiar to me. It’s my father’s home island. I wish I could explain the area further, but it’s hard to describe unless you’ve seen some of the deep sea creatures in their natural environment and know how the plants can differ from place to place.” Hopefully that explanation would suffice. It was familiar to her, if only in images of light that her father would often share with her and her siblings. She had explored the area often as a pup through his illusions and there were certain landmarks that she had memorized like the back of her paw.
He asked for her name then, and she hesitated as he sat down. It was clear she was calculating what would be the best course of action in how she should respond, but he spoke up again before she had fully decided what to say. A small hint of a smile grew on her face in response to his own, but she returned to a more neutral expression as she was prompted to respond.
She lowered her head in a brief yet polite bow, but kept her eyes on this Caedwyn. She would need to remember that name. ”My name is Fenella. It’s good to meet you, Caedwyn.” Fenella took a moment to glance behind him at the land he claimed he ruled over. There wasn’t much to doubt him in this claim for now, but she knew better than to assume packs worked the same way like they did in her homeland.
”If it’s alright, I would like to seek permission to search your lands to see if the island I’m looking for is here.“ Carefully, Fenella lowered herself to a seated position to match his own and kept her head lowered a bit in deference to his rank. ”I don’t ask this for nothing in return. In my homepack, I apprenticed as a historian and I assisted my mother a lot in her roles, who was a caretaker and advisor.“
Fenella straightened herself a bit then, as if she was trying to prove the confidence she felt in her abilities despite her youth compared to the wolf in front of her. ”If any of these could be of service in return of your permission, I’ll do what I can in return for safe passage through your land.“ She awaited a response in slightly impatient silence, curious of his response yet still not exactly trusting of Caedwyn or his intent.
Walk "Speak"Magic
ooc: not sure why my other table is hiding most of my post, so mixing it up until I figure it out haha
image by LIFAmevil on dA
She introduced herself and Caedwyn stood quietly. The name seemed familiar, but so did a lot of things. He was never very good at remembering faces or names - especially after he'd been travelling so much since leaving Vrolga. So he thought little of it and committed it to memory. He was pleased when she sought permission to traverse the land. At least she was smart enough to just go running off without asking first. This could turn out well, he had decided as he listened to her speak. He didn't even have to ask what she should owe him in return, as she was quick to mention her skills as a historian and offer her skills. A smart girl indeed. He couldn't have planned it better.
"These skills of yours could certainly be useful. I think an agreement can be reached between us, though it may not be exactly what you had in mind," he said thoughtfully. "If I should make use of your skills, I will need to be able to call on you whenever needed. I think instead, you should join my pack. You'll be under my rule and the protection of my pack. In exchange, you have free roam of our lands whenever you are not performing your duties. Should you find this island you seek, our contract shall come to an end and you may be on your way." It was quite an idea. She would aid the pack and seek out her island in her free time. Caedwyn was quite pleased with the idea, since he thought for sure it would take her many months to thoroughly search the lands. It might take her longer yet to discover the island she was looking for wasn't here. And on of slim chance it was here, perhaps she would already be so engrained in the pack that she wouldn't want to leave. It seemed like an ideal bargain from Caedwyn's point of view.
The question now was whether she would accept such a deal. "If you are agreeable, the choice of a task shall be yours: Historian, Advisor, Caretaker. You know your skills best, so choose whatever pleases your heart."
