One wouldn’t say the girl was reeling after her encounter with the Avalon, rather... deeply contemplative might have been a better way to describe it. It would seem this day would be full of surprise blasts from the past though as she crossed yet another familiar trail. This one was more amusing than the last, a hymn taking shape as the girl began to hum, smirk etched deep in her face, trail diverting to inevitably converge with his.

As the scent grew stronger she began to sing lyrics she knew were wrong, in the hopes of rankling the man into some sort or response. To bring himself out of hiding. "High on a mountain top, a badger killed a squirrel. Ye Nations now look up, he waves to all the world..."

"speech".

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

The Red Forest was quiet, a gentle breeze ruffled Askan's fur as he moved along, his strides poised and purposeful despite his obvious lack of destination. The wind rushed forward, bringing a scent to his nose and he grimaced so hard the muscles in his face stung like he'd been slapped. Ugh.  He knew some part of his past would catch up with him eventually but did it have to be an Archer? Elian he could have dealt with, chased off with harsh and biting words, perhaps even a snap of his teeth, but the Archers were a different beast entirely. They put on the airs and graces of reverence, Askan knew no clan or Empire that didn't at least pretend to respect The Arcadian Emirate, but unlike the rest they were heathens at heart. And they didn't even try to hide it.

His ears flicked back in disgust as a song flitted through the forest and echoed between the trees, it was painfully familiar but twisted and wrong in open mockery. Had Askan's Father somehow caught wind of this she would have no doubt lost her tongue, or worse. But other than an itching need to be pedantic, Askan didn't really care. The Emirate was great and grand yadda yadda, but he'd never been religious and nor would he ever be.  Before his departure, Askan's Father had long since stopped trying to force him into attending mass and other equally as tedious and boring ceremonies. He was far from evangelical and loathed the hymns as much as anyone else but yeah... he could be awfully pedantic and nitpicky at times. Especially when an Archer was involved.

"High on the mountain top, A banner is unfurled. Ye nations, now look up; It waves to all the world." He recanted with a sneer as he approached, wondering how she'd managed to drag badgers and squirrels into this. There was vaguely something familiar about her though, her eyes were sharp, clever and knowing. He asked the question even though he already knew what the answer would be. "You one of Morganna's?" Lords above knew that the Archers bred like rabbits, that witch especially.

Sedna openly skipped when a voice came out to correct her, a mirthful giggle filling her chest as her eyes finally fell on the chocolate coated man. "Of course, I’m Sedna," she answered at the drop of her mother’s name. After all, who else would dare to be so openly blasphemous in his presence. It was all but known the Archer’s lived to be thorn in the Emirate’s side without ever going so far as to fuel an outright war... especially now there were children shared between them. "how good of you to recognise family so easily, why, I wasn’t quite sure myself when I caught your scent." Her head cocked to the side brazenly. She knew she was playing fire, but this was a child that would readily poke a bear for the fun of it, the Selwyn was a wolf just like she was. "How is our Holy Father? It has been a long time since I last attended... well, you know." If he was here she doubted he had been any more faithful than she.

"speech".

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Sedna? Askan squinted in thought as he tried to recall her name and face, he was pretty certain he'd met her before at some point or another but he was too proud, or stubborn, to say so. If he gave her an inch she'd end up gaining a mile, that's just how Archers were. Instead he sneered at her next words, ears flicking as though he didn't care to listen to what she had to say. It was all Archer mockery, blatant and obtrusive but never quite enough to warrant outright punishment. Somehow they just knew where the line was and instead of crossing it like so many had foolishly done before them, the Archers walked it like a tight rope, clearly enjoying the sense of thrill and amusement it provided them. Askan was certain it'd be their down fall one day, if a crusade was called for then they'd have no one else to blame. Till then the Archers would no doubt continue to poke and prod, like scavenging crows.

Not that he wasn't tempted to bite her muzzle shut, when she spoke it was as though she'd stolen her Mother's voice, all clever and smarmy. She'd have to watch herself though, Askan wasn't a patient or forgiving soul and if she pushed the wrong buttons she'd earn herself a slice of self righteous Selwyn fury. Askan harrumphed, clearly not fond on the topic. But of course she already knew that.

"He's fine. But I imagine your kin would do well to pay their respects, it's his birthday soon. " Another bit of pompous Emirate fanfare he loathed but oh how his Father was fond of showing off how his will be done. But more importantly... "How's Lenae?"

Saints above he missed her. The only one of his sisters who's company he could stand, enjoy even. There was something so soft and gentle about her, as though she loved every part of him, flaws and all. The day Askan had learned of her betrothal to an Archer boy was the day he truly began to loathe them, taking away the one sibling who actually- Askan sighed. It wasn't as if Lenae had been dragged away kicking and screaming, she'd been far too eager for the marriage and had quickly fallen head over heels for him. That was her problem, she loved too much and too fast. The closest to a Saint on earth he'd ever seen.

The Archer-Lyall had missed the back and forth, anyone who knew what the Scowle was and just who she thought she was. Her cockiness deflated though when he mentioned Lenae, her smile turning soft and genuine as she relaxed into the sound of it. "Adored..." It was almost a whisper, but genuine none the less. Just the memory of Jenny and Lenae was almost enough to have the girl turning tail and running for home, but that wouldn’t do. Not yet.

She recovered a bit of her bravado, head lifting and ears turning forward again, tail cheekily swishing from side to side, "We all know she’s too good for him, so we try to make up for his shortcomings." Everyone knew it was the women that held the power at Pookastone, and the boys were only there for... Well, she wasn’t quite old enough to worry about that yet. "Why didn’t you ever come an’ stay?" She stepped forward boldly, moving to pass by his right flank, "We don’t mind visitors, and who knows? Maybe you would have liked our way of livin’ too?" She flicked her tail up, on a trajectory for his chin but pulled it away at the last minute. He seemed like the sort that would bite if she pushed her luck too far, and besides. He stunk of the Avalon girl. Her eyes narrowed and her nose wrinkled like she had caught scent of something unpleasant.

"speech".

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed