we be, the nothing,

A mysterious fog surrounded the mountain on the eventful morning. She woke up a bit later then usual - perhaps due to how the sun had trouble breaching the density. Lately did she sleep beside a tree, being introduced to all the elements, but it wasn't as horrible as one would think. She felt rather comfortable, being at the base of the mountain, always on guard. It was simply how Desdemona was, she wouldn't feel at ease being further away from the borders.

A yawn escaped, and she got up for some early patrolling.

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Though he could not say with certainty, it felt like a carryover from that vague before to keep a late night patrol.. one that like now, often had him up for the earliest hours of the dawn too. Sometimes longer, depending how it went. He often found these days to be his best, maybe the easiest to find the right groove of, and that was something highly valuable to him lately.

So he was not bothered by the fog that persisted (thickened, even) as the sun rose. A sure-footed mountaineer, he simply adjusted accordingly. It didn't really let him get the jump on realizing Desdemona's approach, either. His whole self perked, ears switching up tall just a few strides before he could say for sure. “Hey,” he chuffed when he saw her materialize from the fog, their paths soon to intersect as he slowed up to greet her more warmly than the weather.
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As attention was caught, her jade eyes traveled to the Beta. She hadn't particularly talked or seen him for some time, but the acquaintanceship was still there. Vaguely so, were memories slithering to the front, hazed like a fog, but prominent. She could remember a white wolf, someone seemingly so elegant yet real, but there was something about the wolf that Desdemona did not like, and when the thought occurred, she felt an uncomfortable ripple within her soul. Though outwardly, remained peaceful.

Dipping her head, as the paths conjoined, "Jarilo," she greeted softly, "it is early - are you patrolling as well?"

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To him, it felt subtle. Maybe small even, but that little bit of familiarity, however vague and hazy, it seemed to come naturally between them. He thought he could recognize that much with some shade of truth without being too presumptuous. Like this was right. “Yeah, I was,” he answered with a nod. Jarilo had made a solid loop already, but he was approaching a turning point in interest--knowing he needed to hunt to help keep Saviguk fed and on the mend. That much he was certain about, too. “I was almost thinking about a hunt.. if I found a good lead for one set of teeth,” he supposed, though the lick of noncommittal disinterest sort of seeped in on his tone. With this dreary weather, he really was not feeling that lucky and facing failure didn't exactly appeal any either..

Thoughtfully, Jarilo drew a long breath. “Anything new..?” he asked vaguely about her--in whatever her pursuits for the day were--with an encouraging glance over his shoulder to let her potentially guide the topic a bit.
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"@Altair seems to be wanting to take a lead - perhaps he would join." As the man talk, he was the first to come to mind besides the obvious that was Osiris. As the now, older man of the Ostrega royal litter had already once made his own pack, there was no need to prove himself. Already a great leader itself, though the youngest, have yet to prove themself. She thought of the wolf who wanted to match her training through the boulder routine, and thought perhaps, to lend a paw to further himself. Every Ostrega is destined for great things, Desdemona believed, and perhaps he needed a chance to prove himself.

"I have not seen anything of oddity. Despite a new land, it is peaceful." Albeit some may find it boring, she thought of it as a rather peaceful time. Before she remembered how there was a barbaric group, and upon meeting them a displeasure took hold. Now that they were gone from them, and the troubles as well.. There was not much to report, besides the occasional curious stranger.

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Jarilo hummed a soft appreciation for the mention of his nephew. “Hmm probably likely. He can be a good, willing accomplice,” the guardian smirked, wondering where he had scented him last. He did not remember readily if he had encountered many of Hydra's other sons so far.. Osiris, certainly. But not Caelum. Antares and Atlas, too, he found he especially missed. Saviguk, of course, still needed to rest and heal so the worried father was hesitant to push him too hard, too fast. But, he also did not want to hold him back as soon as he felt properly up to anything. “I might have to find him,” he added, caught by a sudden fondness.

But she kept his focus trained well enough. So far, none of them had reported anything odd. It inspired a strange peace in him, but of course, he knew well to not let complacency make them weak. They would use this quiet to further fortify, as ever. “Nothing too odd on my watch, either.” Jarilo went to confirm, though. Some days, the most interesting matter he found was just strange trees, or other facets of the land. He had many circuits of the land that went undisturbed, honestly.. which was absolutely fine by him when he was still learning the finer details of the place. “Have you met any of the.. 'neighbors' yet?” he asked, sort of loose with the term in the first place because he struggled to picture the world past the mountain still, let alone any other organized clans in it.
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All of Hydra's spawns were one's that held great ability. Some had simply yet to prove themselves, and now.. Though lost, she will always assume they would be doing something great elsewhere. At least venturing to further the other ones was the best she could do, to further the name of 'Ostrega,' to the lands beyond. Desdemona felt she should help that much, especially as the family was the one to accept her so, and let her live amongst their ranks. To the point, her rank may be Gamma, but she will always treat herself as the Omega she was born as.

"We have neighbors?" As the guard rarely ever left the mountain and even beyond, her ear twitched curiously at these 'neighbors,' and wondered who they were. She looked at Jarilo, with a shake, definitely not knowing who they were.

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“Not close,” softly he shook his head to dispel any concern about proximity neighbors might have unintentionally inspired, paired with a god forbid type of expression. He was valuing the relative privacy they had where they were very much. Mostly, he was thinking of the one Dirge and Hydra had some word of, one found when they were searching for other possible wayward Ostregas out in the wilds well past their doorstep. There were others, too, and perhaps even more than that beyond their scope still, he figured. One that was an older alliance stuck out above all else, though.

While not a side of the pack Jarilo personally had much experience in dealing with, but through his queenly sister, he knew how it was well enough. “Vengeance's pack.. somewhere, south I think,” he explained, sort of loosely. “I've heard of at least one other group that's supposedly looking to make a claim too. I don't know a lot else yet,” he admitted. “I haven't gone far.” Now that he was thinking about this, he realized he could use to pry after Hydra for any updates--though he doubted it would be anything remarkable. He would've heard by now, most likely.
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"I only vaguely remember that man.. It is strange how many familiars, are waking up in this odd land." She wondered how many were simply 'picked up' from before and was placed here, like some sort of game piece. It was so odd how voided the region was from wolves itself, no scent, no habitats.. Occasionally some would find bones, but that was so different then any residue of an actual pack being held. Signs of foxes and other species were known to be around, yet, no wolves.

At least they held a strong foothold, "is Osiris preparing for his own pack?" Desdemona inquired. Though at the moment he seemingly was not, she wondered when was the time he would bring up his own domain once more, furthering, the Ostrega legacy.

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Jarilo replied first with a soft nod. He did not know Vengeance well, and did not think that he ever had before. “Same here,” and like many things, he existed through Hydra's knowledge too. The rest had already made him wonder too. “It is strange. I wonder what the connection all is, or.. ” he hmm-ed, short of drawing off there. “What exactly happened to all of us that have found ourselves here..” Why it was some of them, not others. Not apparently, anyway but maybe they were here.. just somewhere else. It was big, existential issues like this that he could knew thinking on would lead nowhere in particular.

As for Osiris, first he shook his head. He had not caught wind of any plans for such claims so far. They had plenty of mountain, and maybe once they had a greater sense of settled about them, they could once more look to expanding their reach. “I don't think so yet. He's been helping search for his siblings, and others too..” Jarilo replied. Of the alpha's first litter, only Osiris had managed to be found so far. Antares, Atlas, Vega... they were still scattered to the wind. Caelum and Mintaka from the younger bunch, too, were unaccounted for. He was still missing one of his own, too, but alongside his daughter's mother, he could find no trace of them--even memories were hard to have a firm grasp on.
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"I only remember the bear." Desdemona so confessed, the memories were so vibrant that often even in her sleep did it haunt her. A wolf experiencing her own death was something to not easily be forgotten, fake or not, she could still hear her own cracking, her body being torn, and almost as if.. Her own mind was torn away. She didn't remember anything after that, but once did hold a dream of watching the rest of the wolves bury herself and others upon the mountain, before everything faded into an oblivion of unknown. The guard preferred to not remember too vividly about it, and often simply avoided the details.

"I suspect the rest are alive, and will eventually come." Desdemona wasn't particularly close to most, perhaps Atlas above all of Hydra's litter, and a part of her did miss him. He was a nice fellow, quiet as he did nightshift, and the occasion would they chatter under the stars. The rest were strong, she may not talked to them - but every Ostrega has a strength.

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The bear. A very distinct point of reference in the turning point of their histories, but one surprisingly vague now that he forcibly reflected. He remembered the bear too, then if he searched, some hazy afterward--of climbing up, howling to the snow-capped peaks of the spear, and gathering with the others in the aftermath though he could not recount their faces. Then, there was more still, right? It began to blur there, he suspected, only getting worse as the time spanned after that. Was that possible..? With a small shiver creeping underneath his skin, he thought it might simply be best that way; to not know, exactly. “I remember the bear too. Maybe something after, I can't tell. Not right now..” he drew off quietly.

He steadied with a deep breath. “I think so too. They have to be.. somewhere,” he reasoned as he looked off towards a distant horizon in part for his own peace of mind. A corner of his heart told him he should still harbor doubts; something dire had happened, after all, he would not have left otherwise, and surely the same would be said for others like his sisters and Desdemona. He hoped that soon, they could all be reunited properly, settle the ugly unknowing, and above all, that the gaps in their memories would no longer plague them. But again, it would take time, and the proper twist of fate to get them there.

And onward as such, as time marched on as it so often did. The morning was filling out, and the patrol would go on--conversation winding, or not; he was no stranger to silence when necessary, but he did enjoy comfortable company. As with the rest of it, wondered what the day would have in store for the mountainside, and savored this peaceful-enough start.

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trying to wrap some stuff so i can justify new threads LMAO, hope that's okay <3

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She nodded to the Beta.. There was memories floating, members in waiting, and all but just pieces remaining, keeping alive of what once. Though it wasn't an old puzzle anymore, but something new to form with those they gain. Such convo was heavy-hearted between the two, and so it settled into but a faint quietness into the world. A gentle buzz of the birds and insects, but a mutual respect and not of a tension or an awkwardness. A peaceful walk.

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