[Navigation note: Dancefloor of the Gods]

Crux couldn't believe it hadn't even been a full day yet. The early morning storm that had hit them felt like a hundred years ago and yet it was still only early evening of the same day. In theory they probably could have gotten to Insomnia lands earlier, if they'd been any other two wolves. He could only move so fast with his leg and with Cryptis' state he wasn't looking to push her too hard either. But they'd finally done it, the two wolves and their train of companions had arrived, at least if the pack scent he knew from Triss told him anything. Bear and Riya lingered behind them, eyes sharp and alert. Marshal circled over head and Crux wasn't too sure they didn't look threatening. Well not him, he looked tired, which he was. His limbs were sore and he was exhausted, he'd yet to have a real chance to rest. But they had to get Cryptis home sooner rather than later. Crux stopped a respectful distance from the border marker, and found himself glancing at the smaller girl. Earlier he'd offered his assurance to her while they'd talked to his father and now he found himself looking to her for confidence. Crux still wasn't sure how he was going to explain everything. He knew he couldn't mention exactly what had happened, at least until they had recovered; doing so would be giving a known enemy information about a weakness, but he still had to make sure he wasn't explicitly lying, partially because he didn't want to withhold any information that could help Cryptis recover.

With one last glance at the smaller girl he tipped his head back and called for the woman named Medusa, the only name he'd been given and he assumed the alpha of the pack. His stomach felt like it was tying itself in knots, each one getting tighter as seconds ticked by.

"Speech!"

Art & Code © Rex 2022

Triss knew the situation was complicated, and she felt bad for putting Crux into this. She certainly had not expected to lose her voice, nor to unexpectedly trespass. She wasn’t sure why Crux looked nervous, she was the one who had broken rules, not him. She just hoped she could win over her godmother. Surely Medusa would understand, she had only ever been understanding to Triss.

She gave Crux a small smile, and patted his paw. She didn’t bother trying to speak. They had survived his parents, surely now they would survive hers. Crux raised his head and did what she could not - called for Medusa. She would have asked for him to call for Widow, too, if she could speak. Well, maybe it was better to have one wolf at a time so Crux wasn’t overwhelmed. She leaned back on her hunches and tried to look sweet and innocent.


"Speech"

She was stacking some bones and organizing some furs she had collected. Her den had gotten a little messy, and after being chided by Umbra a few times, Medusa finally got around to organizing things to look a little neater. She was in the midst of stacking some of the smaller bones when she heard an unfamiliar call, and no more than a heartbeat or two later, Nox came shuffling into the den. "Armada. Triss."> He murmured as he gently pushed her out of the way and continued stacking. Medusa's head tilted, eyes narrowing a tad as she turned to leave the den. What was Armada doing here? And what was Triss doing with them? The two packs were not friends, and although Medusa wasn't outright hostile toward them, she did not by any means trust them. They had given her no reason to. As far as she knew, they were former allies to Habari, and the last run-in she had with Azure, he had tried to drag her back to Habari when she was a slave there. She had one run-in with Sirius on her own borders, but he had left promptly after she met him at the border, so she assumed that he got his answer and he took off. With that action alone, she had enough sense to know that they were still far from neighborly, especially since he hadn't been at all friendly that day and had come with his own assumptions.

She wasn't wary of them nor afraid of them in the slightest. She just simply didn't trust them...though she had a few run-ins with random Armada members, she had been cordial, and so had they. They hadn't been hostile the way Azure and Sirius had presented themselves, so which Armadan was at her border, and why the hell was Triss with them? She hurried to the border, lips pursed as her head angled low like a hyena on the prowl. Umbra and Seymour accompanied her, and the vulture went on ahead to keep an eye on the pair until Medusa arrived.

The Wraith saw them in the near distance. She approached. Her dual-toned gaze critically assessed the pair that waited at Insomnia's borders. She lifted her head a bit as she looked between the two, and for once, she didn't smile as she paused a few feet before them. She had noticed Triss leaving quite often. Something Medusa didn't like the idea of considering Triss had only just recently come back home after being stolen away. "Why is Cryptis with Armada boy?" She questioned, tone neutral.

"Speech"

Cryptis' gentle pats on his paw felt so warm somehow and he managed a less strained smile down at her. Though it wouldn't stay too long. A form, probably Medusa approached them and Marshal flew lower to hear whatever exchange was about to occur. Medusa couldn't have been even an inch taller than he was and yet Crux couldn't help but feel like she was looming over him, even though there was space between them. Her question felt like it was aimed at Triss and he grimaced. "I'm sorry." He started both trying to preempt the skull faced woman telling him the question hadn't been for him but also because frankly he was, he hated that this had been the outcome of what had simply been a benevolent action on the girl's part. "I'm afraid I'll have to answer any questions you have, there's been some complications." Did that sound bad? It hadn't sounded quite so bad in his head but out loud now he felt like it sounded so much worse.

"There was a storm this morning and it caused some flooding." Some was an understatement but he wasn't going to tell Medusa just how extensive the flooding had been he was going to give as little information as possible. "I- I'm not a particularly strong swimmer." Crux lifted his right foreleg to let Medusa see the crystals growing from his right hind leg; he wasn't sure if the woman knew of Crytpis' own crystal growths but he was allowing himself to show his own weakness to the woman to try and make it clear he was no threat. "I ended up trapped in my den and I guess Cryptis must have heard me calling for help." He turned to look at her then, his expression softening slightly as he gave a soft smile down at the girl. She had saved his life. "She was... Amazing, without her I believe I would have drowned." That was also true, not only had her rope helped him but despite his own wish that she hadn't risked herself like that Crux did have to admit it had been a very brave thing to do. He put his focus back on Medusa and his smile dropped, expression becoming sombre. "But, uh..." Crux cleared his throat awkwardly. "Cryptis swallowed a lot of flood water." Another understatement, he didn't want to tell Medusa she'd passed out while under the water, that wasn't an event that was his to tell by his estimation. "We think it aggravated her throat and right now... she... can't talk." Crux trailed off, gaze dropping to his paws. "I- I do not have the knowledge needed to help her voice return." His voice told of his exhaustion, and the low simmering distress he held for what had happened to his little saviour.

"We, we uh, thought it was a good idea to make sure Cryptis got home safely and to make sure you know about her current condition." He didn't like talking about Crytpis like this, right in front of her, it felt too familiar to him; it was amazing how others seemed to think that since one of his legs didn't work, his ears didn't either. He'd lifted his gaze again as he'd spoken but there was no confidence in him, he mostly was watching. He could only hope that in the moments he hadn't been looking at Cryptis she'd been agreeing in whatever way she thought fit, it sounded all too much like a convenient excuse even to him, and he'd lived it, nearly died it too.  

"Speech!"

Art & Code © Rex 2022

The moment Medusa appeared, Triss bounced forward and kissed her Godmother's cheek. She did love the older woman who was as much a second mum to her… but she was also pulling out all the stops. She was worried about how the news would be received, and she didn't want Crux getting into trouble. His father seemed to think there would be, and she wasn't sure why. After greeting Medusa, she stepped back to Crux's side. Her eyes moving from Medusa to Crux as they spoke. When her Alpha asked why she was with the Armada boy, she tilted her head to the side as she tried to figure out how to communicate what she needed - but she didn't have to. Here was where Crux stepped up, and she listened as he spoke for her. Starting with an apology for why he had to do the talking. Her eyes were mostly on Medusa, seeing how the other woman was taking this news. She frowned when Crux explained his inability to swim and showed his disability. She knew how he felt about that. He saved me first! She wanted to say, and her eyes blazed a little with her desire to speak and she opened her mouth. "---" this was going to get very old very fast. She huffed, and realised she didn't know how to mime out the rescue he had pulled on her. She tapped Crux on the paw, and pointed to her throat, and then gave an exaggerated gasp of breath, and then tapped his paw more vigorously. Tell her!  But he was still in the middle of his own story, telling Medusa how she had rescued him. She didn't think she'd been that heroic. She hadn't realised how high the water would rise, and when she had choked on the rope in that flooded den she very likely would have taken them both down with her. But Crux and his companion had gotten them out (she still didn't know that his brother had stepped in) he moved on to her injury, and she nodded her head and opened her mouth in case Medusa wanted to pair in. Her godmother knew of course about the crystals and the asthma. She had helped raise Triss, and some of those memories had trickled back in over time.  She rested her paw on Cruxs and met Medusa's eyes. Trying to convey that they were on the same side. That she trusted Crux. "Speech"

The moment she had arrived, Triss had bounced up to her and given her a kiss. Medusa returned the gesture of affection, all while keeping her eyes on the Armadan boy before her goddaughter returned to Crux's side. Her gaze flicked up briefly to find the Armadan vulture that flew low overhead. Her gaze narrowed, a low growl rumbling in her throat as her fur bristled. Spies. She did not trust them, and the presence of the vulture hovering overhead did little to ease her mind. Without a word or motion, Seymour flew to circle just above the other vulture, keeping an eye on him should he start any funny business.

"I'm sorry." Dual-toned gaze promptly found the Armadan boy again, and it took a great deal for her not to dismiss him completely and send him on his way. But, unfortunately for her, she was a curious if albeit distrustful beast. So she'd wait to hear what they had to say. "I'm afraid I'll have to answer any questions you have, there's been some complications." Or rather...what he had to say. Her gaze fell to Triss, wondering why this boy was speaking for her. He said there had been some flooding that morning. That he wasn't a strong swimmer, and he even showed her some sort of crystal deformity that grew on his leg. While she would have usually been extremely curious and would have probably started poking and prodding at it, she remained where she was. She knew how the Armada worked. Knew they were as distrustful as she was. She had been around long enough to hear about them. They probably would use her impulsive curiosity at wanting to do that as an excuse and claim she was threatening the boy, and she'd be damned if they tried to lie about the truth of the matter.

"I ended up trapped in my den and I guess Cryptis must have heard me calling for help. She was... Amazing, without her I believe I would have drowned." While part of her was proud of Triss' actions, she was also not happy to find that her goddaughter had been so far north on her own. Why was she even that close to the Armada to begin with? It was known that they were not allies, nor friends, nor had any sort of amicable relationship. Sirius and Azure had made that clear in their actions and their hostility toward her when she had done absolutely nothing to them.

He explained what had happened, or at least, what he told her had happened. Whether or not it was true, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that her goddaughter suddenly couldn't speak, and she was here with a crystallized Armadan. Not once did she smile since she arrived, nor was she unkind toward the boy. He was just that. A boy. A child as far as she was concerned. Not quite a pup, but not yet a full-fledged adult. She took a few moments to process what had been said. Glancing toward Umbra as she wordlessly sought guidance from her ever-faithful companion before turning her attention back to Crux. "Medusa thanks Armada boy for bringing Triss home. But Medusa is not sure she believes this. Armada does not trust Medusa, and Medusa does not trust Armada." She glanced up to the Armadan vulture then, eyes narrowing again. "Why does Sirius send a spy instead of coming himself? He does not like Medusa. Medusa has done nothing to Armada. But Crystal Boy helped Triss, and Triss helped him?"

She didn't know what the fuck to believe. For all she knew, it was some sort of trap to get her indebted to them for helping her goddaughter. They were pretty mad when she won the pack from Recluse. Maybe they had similar values or something. As far as Medusa was concerned, Recluse was not a nice wolf by any means and could be downright cruel, vindictive, and sneaky. At least, that had been Medusa's experience with her, anyway. She turned her attention to Triss, "Why was she over there?" Wait. Fuck. She couldn't talk right now, could she? She heaved a massive sigh. Did this have anything to do with her own ailments? Or had the Armada done something and were covering it up? She had so many questions and suspicions, but if the latter were the case, then Triss wouldn't be all buddy-buddy with Crystal Boy, would she? She had been drugged before...her memory was not what it used to be as far as she was aware. But even she had the sense to know that this wasn't the case like the one before. All she could do for now, she supposed, was speculate.

"Speech"

Despite his reservations there was something endearing about watching Triss happily bounce up to Medusa, and he gave her a tiny smile as she bounced back towards him. But there was work to do and as he spoke he had kept his attention on Medusa, glancing over at her only when she'd started tapping his paw and came away from his glance with confusion, what was she trying to tell him? He had to put his attention on Medusa when she responded though and figured if it was important she'd keep getting his attention.

Honestly he wasn't surprised by the woman saying she didn't trust him, he really didn't expect her to. There probably wasn't anything he could say that would convince her, even if he was being truthful. He didn't know the reason for the tense relations between the two packs, only that they existed and so couldn't say anything to that effect either. Crux furrowed his brow, unable to hide his confusion as Medusa started talking about a spy? He followed her gaze, noticing the two birds that were now circling overhead. It seemed his father's companion had gotten some height again so it could be even with a bird Crux could only assume was Medusa's own avian friend. "You-" He stuttered, was there anything he could say to convince Medusa that the companion animals around him were only there for his own protection? Probably not, he wasn't even sure they wouldn't tell his father exactly what had been said, so she was probably even correct in some ways but Crux wanted to do his best to diffuse some of the tension, just for his own safety honestly. If the way she'd interacted with Cryptis was anything to go by the small girl wouldn't be at any risk if things went sour, that was a relief at least. "You're right my- The warlord doesn't trust you. He only instructed his companions to make sure we both got here safe, and that I'll leave safely as well. He's protective of his wolves." Another truth that left out information, albeit just his own assumptions at this point, no one had been specifically told to spy. And his father's protective nature was very true, almost comically so. As for Cryptis helping him? Well he couldn't know for certain but he figured he had a guess.

Oh! Triss' charades made sense now, she was telling him to explain how they'd met! He gave her a little nod of acknowledgement. Even if it had taken him longer than it should have! "I um... Helped her first. I was out by the nearby waterfall a week or two ago." So neutral ground that was close to both packs, he was eager to make it clear Cryptis hadn't been lurking around enemy territory. Crux gestured with his muzzle towards the stone peak that rose above the northern horizon, blocking their view of the Col all together, the waterfall hard to make out from this distance. "I'm a healer so I was stocking up on herbs before winter. That's where we met. Cryptis she-" Oh cool, he was starting to feel very self-conscious about talking about her while she was right there, especially about her disability. Also didn't help he couldn't help the creep of worry entering his voice, the memory of that day giving him anxiety for the girl all over again. "She had an attack." Yep just rip that band-aid right off. "I helped her get her breathing back under control and made sure she was okay afterwards. That's probably why she came to help me today." He wasn't mentioning the way he'd had to wrap himself around Triss to keep her warm during her attack, nor the blossoming friendship that had formed between them. He didn't want to presume anything, nor did he want to say anything that might get Cryptis in trouble later. And no way in hell he'd mention he'd started crushing on the small Insomnia wolf!

As for why Cryptis had been close enough to hear him today? Medusa had aimed the question at Cryptis and all Crux could do was shrug and shake his head. He had no idea. He'd been in his own den, sleeping, so it wasn't as though they'd been together. Had she been seeking him out? Or maybe she'd been looking for his nephew? He wasn't the only wolf she knew from the Armada, and it was pretty self-centred to assume she'd been there for him specifically. He'd love to know what had brought her close enough to be his hero of the hour but wasn't sure when, if ever, she'd get to share that information. He hoped that it was a question of when though, and prayed Insomnia had the resources to help treat her throat. Armada sure didn't, not after the flood had carried more than half of them away.

"Speech!"

Art & Code © Rex 2022

Triss blinked as Medusa also said she didn’t trust Armada. There was clearly something here that she wasn’t getting. But she loved the wolves of Insomnia, and she loved the ones she’d met of Armada so far (except maybe on the fence about the Warlord, who was an intimidating figure). So why couldn’t they just get along and be friends? She could do little more than sit there beside Crux as he did his best to explain. He explained the bird that followed them, and she kind of wished he would shoo the bird away to put Medusa at ease. It took him some time, but he finally got what she was trying to tell him. He launched into an explanation of when they had first met, and she looked up at Crux with relieved eyes. He’d saved her life, and that has basically set the tempo for their friendship. She didn’t trust strangers easily. She still had nightmares about her kidnapping - but Crux? Crux was a light of happiness in her life. There was so much she wanted to say, and she had no idea how to say it. When Medusa asked her what she was doing that close to Armada she paused, tilting her head as she tried to think of a good way to explain it. He mimed closing her eyes for a moment, and then flicking them open. She walked in a circle beside Crux, and then pinned her ears back, her head shooting up in surprise. She mimed racing, and then tapped Crux’s paw again, looking up at Medusa with an expression of worry and concern. This was an awfully ineffective way to communicate, and she hoped she was being understood. After that, she shrugged, tapping Crux’s paw again, her eyes on Medusa. Willing her Godmother to understand. Friend. He’s my Friend! "Speech"

Hmm...She could see this meeting wasn't going entirely well, at leas that she could pick up on. Her gaze shifted between the birds in the sky, ears listening to the boy as he explained. She wasn't prideful in the slightest. She didn't think she was the shit or like she was better than everyone else, and she very well knew there were wolves out there that did think that way. She was protective of her own as well, much like this boys...warlord or whatever he was, was protective over them. That was probably the only thing they had in common. At least from what she could tell. "Hmm..." Her gaze returned to the two, "Medusa isn't going to hurt..." She squinted at him, realizing she didn't know his name. Why? Was he hiding who he was? Cryptis couldn't tell her, either! She didn't want to be that person, but she was starting to get a little frustrated and wary. Then again, he was a kid...probably wasn't done on purpose, but it didn't stop the sigh slipping past her lips. "Medusa isn't going to hurt him. It would be mean of Medusa to do that when he brought Triss home safe," The Wraith would take a deep breath, sitting back as she listened to him explain how they had met. Her gaze found the small girl when he mentioned she had been having an attack. Medusa was aware of the girls disability, and was always worried whenever she'd find that the girl had left the pack lands. Sure, she probably shouldn't worry when she did, but she did anyway because...well...after what happened when she had been found. It took a lot of self control for Medusa not to get upset right then and there and reprimand the girl. It wouldn't do any good to do that in front of the boy. And it certainly wouldn't help if she did it while upset, either. Instead, she remained quiet until the Armadan boy was done. "Medusa is...grateful...that he has helped Triss come home safely. Armada boy is welcome to visit Insomnia if he wants, Medusa won't mind." Hopefully...she could trust him enough not to go back home spilling things about the pack. She really didn't want to have to do something about it, but all things considered, he seemed honest for the most part. So maybe he wasn't so bad...the rest of them though? She couldn't say for sure yet. She offered a smile at last, her demeanor changing as she relaxed. "What's his name?" She asked with a tilt of her head. "Medusa"