Aerten’s tongue had held no response for Halina, for the silent approach of the Ice King himself had removed the need for such. How she had missed his presence was unknown to her. She had caught neither sight of him and his stark ivory coat nor his scent. Not catching Kershov’s scent was excusable… she was at the boundary and though she had already ingrained it into her memory, she was surrounded by it. Picking out new from old at the boundary was nearly impossible. But his coat – it stood out against the dark lands and she should have seen him. Still, she did not fault her mistake – he was, after all, the great Ice King. It didn’t not overly surprise her that he could hide from eyes when he wanted to. Lady Halina: how delightful for you to offer your strengths to the army. Her deep blue azures looked upon his marred face and the slightest of smiles graced her maw.

The scars would be disconcerting to many – they were extensive to say the least. Children would no doubt be frightened by their appearance, thinking him to be the demon of their nightmares come to life before their very eyes. Women would think him the beast in the shadows, come to ravage them against their will, ravage their wills until they broke. Brutes would see him as the one battle they desperately did not want to fight, a monster who had lived through many battles with only a terrible scar to tell of his victories. Halina, however, saw not a demon, nor a beast, nor a monster. Halina saw before her a general worthy of his 5 stars, one that was battle-hardened and knowledgeable. The eboness saw one worthy of leading a grand army, a leader worthy of following. His scar was, to her, a sign of his worthiness, his uniform, as it were. Not a uniform that one simply put on for a job, but one that one wore every day because it was his life.

Submit to your Alpha, and I shall be more than happy to escort you into the territory as an honored recruit. This was more than Halina could have hoped for at her first appearance to the pack. She had thought that her work ethic and loyalty would need to be proven before she would have the honor of being in his presence… the fact that he personally would bring her into his packlands impressed her. “I will do so readily, my liege.” Her gaze not breaking his, her weight shifted back toward her haunches. A single foreleg extended whilst the other folded beneath her chest. The moves were graceful, elegant even, but in their trained motions there was more – it told of discipline and training. Though it didn’t betray her function yet, that she was a warrior, it told of her ethic if nothing else. Only when the bow was completed did she lower her gaze. The bow was out of respect for him… to show her trust and loyalty, she completed the submission, lowering her form to the ground and rolling onto her back, belly up, exposing all of her vulnerabilities. Her jugular was exposed in full, as was the quickest route to her intestines. Azures averted, she paused, waiting perhaps a full minute. In such a position, with her orbs not upon him, he could do anything to her, leaving her completely defenseless. It was the oldest form of submission, the traditional form, and it was the only one she believed in. After performing it, it showed how willing she was to serve Kershov. In essence, she had put her life in his paws. Had he so wished it, her life would be forfeit. Since he had not killed her, it was a sign of him returning her life to her – his payment for her service.

Returning to all four paws, she raised to her full height – she was tall for a femme, and more muscular too thanks to her persistent training. “Lead on, Kershov. Show me your lands which I have sworn to protect and fight for.” She had thought to perhaps use a term of respect for him – ‘Leige’, ‘General’, ‘Lord’… but she had not wished to offend him with the wrong one, so she used the one name that she knew would not cause offence – his name.




OOC- None :3