i am the blood of the mountain

As I had moved towards the pacing shewolf, another had come into view. She was slighter of stature and there is perhaps something almost endearing about the wideness of her eyes as she looks upon me in my approach. Her presence does not change my trajectory, though, and I came to stand before the two who even from first glance seem like such polar opposites I was unsure of why they traveled together. The bright blue eyes of the lighter female are severe, hard as stones as she stares back at me. But the golden eyes of the girl at her side were wide and soft as I spoke my introduction the duo. Even as my gaze floated back and forth between them, offering equal attention to both, the reaction to my introduction was so vastly different that I honestly wondered if they had just both stumbled upon my borders at the same time, for certainly they could not be companions? The larger of the two practically shut down as I spoke, and the flat, frustrated murmur under her breath actually garnered the smallest of amused smiles to pull at my features. Her body language spoke of how her first impressions of me were not too grand, though I could not say mine of her were exactly spectacular either. One with such a short fuse as to become so alienated by a longer-than-expected introduction could hardly be expected to partake in the social nature of a pack. But I would not completely write her off, as she seemed to apt to do with me.

"Please, call me Daenerys," I said, my smile becoming more genuine as I focused my attention upon the girl who was far more receptive to my greeting. Mahogany eyes flitted back towards the other momentarily as she moved to depart without another word. But Jericho's arrival was perhaps the saving grace for our encounter. A single ear flicked back at the sound of his approach, recognizing the sound of his pawsteps immediately and feeling my heart practically jump in my chest. My crown turned away from the two females, my attention given in this moment almost entirely to Jericho as his fur mingled with mine while he stood at my side. It is brief, and then he moved forward once more, and as his muzzle glided along my shoulder an electricity coursed through my bodice. I reached forward to allow my nose to run along his neck as he moved past me, and then my attention returned to the two others. It would seem that Jericho's presence had given the testy female at least some reason to pause in her hasty departure. But it was to the slighter female that my Bloodrider went first, surprise overcoming him at her presence. My tail waved back and forth slowly, his excitement almost palpable in the air. Over much time spent together I had become attuned to his emotions and he mine.

I simply observed the greetings he gave to each of the wolves, as dynamic and different as the colors of their pelts. There was the slightest, smallest stirrings of jealousy in the pit of my stomach, wondering what connections Jericho held with these two females. But I remained regal and friendly, the softest of breaths released as he stepped back to stand at my side once more. I found comfort in the touch of his shoulder against mine; it was not something that I needed, merely something that I wanted. My eyes met his, those orange spheres dancing with excitement that I could not imagine at first glance that the larger female's presence could elicit from anyone. He introduced the two shewolves, and I nodded to them each in turn, committing their names and scents to memory. Casually I looked back and forth between Fjallraven, Viora, and Jericho, though the ear closest to him remained always upon Jericho. "I see," I replied, musing on the idea of if perhaps this Viora was having a rather off day or if she was always this...pleasant to interact with. Surely there must be some side of her worthwhile if Jericho counted her as a friend? The words that followed from Viora only earned my attention in that she spoke of another to come - Magnus. She spoke of how loud Spirane was, and I cared not for her meaning behind it; perhaps it was some sort of jibe at me, but it was simply ignored. After all, I'd dealt with conceited wolves who thought that they are somehow more 'fantastic' than others before. I would not gratify her with a comment, leaving it for Jericho to reply to as he was whom it was intended for.

Her attention then turned back to me, and she inquired after whether I'd seen Tesseract. "My scouts tell me his scent has all but disappeared. The last fresh trail they found was of him moving north, out of Moladion." Tesseract had been a long standing ally to Spirane, and a wolf who I counted as my friend. He had aided me in some of the darkest months of my life, and for that I would always owe him a debt of gratitude. When news had arrived upon my borders that he had fallen from power last fall, I had sent out scouts looking for him, to ensure he knew that he was welcome within the mountains. Once they had tracked down his scent outside of Iromar, they followed it from there, only to find that it seemed as though he had disappeared. I could only muse on what it was about this female that had garnered the friendship of not only Jericho, but also the former Potentate of Glorall. Clearly there must be more to her than met the eye, and I found myself...curious.

daenerys