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+--- Thread: AW for so long i have waited (/showthread.php?tid=11492)
for so long i have waited - Gjalla - 5/7/2026
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Eirwen ? :0
the valley opened beneath the mountains like a secret kept in the hollow of two great hands. gjalla descended into it through veils of falling snow, black against the white world, her breath steaming and her ears tipped forward. at its heart lay the lake, frozen from shore to shore, its surface pale beneath drifts and wind-carved ripples. reeds stood brittle along the banks, bowed and rattling while willows clawed at the shoreline with silver fingers.
beyond them, the valley floor stretched wide enough for to support herds, wide enough for rendezvous, wide enough for a pack to gather without being crowded by rock and cliff. gjalla could already see it as it might become: tracks crossing in many directions, voices rising at dusk, pups tumbling through thaw-soft grass while sentries watched from higher ground. this could be the heart if she could keep it. it would be the heart. the vision is stinging—stinging with pain, with want. want that sank down quietly and made demands of the flesh, a cruel reminder of the life she had lost, a bright look of the life she could still have.
all she needed was flesh to keep it safe, to guard. she knows already where to look. in detail, she can recall the gray woman from moons ago. eirwen, a woman separated from her empire and yet, perhaps, ready to pledge herself to a new one.
throwing her head back, gjalla sings to her, a summons she can only pray the woman can hear.
RE: for so long i have waited - Eirwen - 5/17/2026
The snow is endless. It feels it has always been this way, she thinks she remembers. A tundra beneath her paws, ice upon her belly as she sparred with brothers for milk. Their faces evade her, as does her mother’s.
It is a call of here and now that rips her from unwelcome but wanted memories. Raising her broad head, ears tuned forward to catch the song upon the wind, she holds an expectant breath.
Call on me when Stormrift stands.
Eirwen’s tundra feet are frozen. Her memories are not clear, but for a new calling? Her future can be clear.
She runs to meet her with a strident lope, clearing fields and icy wells of montane water. The night kissed woman comes into view, and her gait steadies, until she approaches at a brisk walk.
Stern brown eyes are expectant. Her good brow raises, and she chuffs.
“Your call was for me, I presume.”
It is a call of here and now that rips her from unwelcome but wanted memories. Raising her broad head, ears tuned forward to catch the song upon the wind, she holds an expectant breath.
Call on me when Stormrift stands.
Eirwen’s tundra feet are frozen. Her memories are not clear, but for a new calling? Her future can be clear.
She runs to meet her with a strident lope, clearing fields and icy wells of montane water. The night kissed woman comes into view, and her gait steadies, until she approaches at a brisk walk.
Stern brown eyes are expectant. Her good brow raises, and she chuffs.
“Your call was for me, I presume.”
RE: for so long i have waited - Gjalla - 5/19/2026
this post is lowkey butt im sorry
the call had scarcely faded from the valley walls before a shape emerged through the snowfall, a silver silhouette near lost against pallid ice. the warrior woman cuts across the white expanse with the sure-footed stride, straight to her summoner.
periwinkle eyes shift and fasten upon the other woman as she approached.
hail, eirwen.the words left her in a plume of steam, the corner of her mouth twitching to the barest of smiles.
it was. you are a woman of your word.
gjalla turned then, sweeping her muzzle toward the valley spread behind her—the mountains rose on all sides like the ribs of a sleeping god, sheltering the land within.
i trust the travel here was pleasant?or perhaps not—gjalla did not know how well eirwen would enjoy such a hike.
RE: for so long i have waited - Eirwen - 5/25/2026
Eirwen feels she has not searched for the changes of expression except in midst of battle. To see the mind of the enemy, it is all in the face. It is best to be stone-cold, and yet, it brings something of relief to see Gjalla's dark lips curve so slightly.
"I am an honest woman." Truth often cuts the heart and is not always kind. She does not want to wield it as a spear unless she needs to, anymore. There is a desire to make herself something more than a woman that cut down the lives of others.
As Gjalla turns, beckoning to the valley cut by towering cliff faces around them, Eirwen can appreciate the site they have landed upon. A guardian of intruders, but a setting far kinder than the heart of the mountain itself. Her jaw hurts, for some odd reason thinking about it. In response she grunts, lifts her head to reveal a still-blistering wound upon her throat. It has healed, somewhat, but will no doubt scar.
"Met a beast of a man not far from here, months ago. I ruined his face. I do not know if he still stalks these lands." Stern eyes are encased in warning.
"I am an honest woman." Truth often cuts the heart and is not always kind. She does not want to wield it as a spear unless she needs to, anymore. There is a desire to make herself something more than a woman that cut down the lives of others.
As Gjalla turns, beckoning to the valley cut by towering cliff faces around them, Eirwen can appreciate the site they have landed upon. A guardian of intruders, but a setting far kinder than the heart of the mountain itself. Her jaw hurts, for some odd reason thinking about it. In response she grunts, lifts her head to reveal a still-blistering wound upon her throat. It has healed, somewhat, but will no doubt scar.
"Met a beast of a man not far from here, months ago. I ruined his face. I do not know if he still stalks these lands." Stern eyes are encased in warning.
RE: for so long i have waited - Gjalla - 6/1/2026
gjalla’s gaze drops at once to the wound at eirwen’s throat. the raw line of it catches the pale light, and her nostrils flare once, taking in the old scent of blood.
a faint huff leaves her.
good to hear you got your pound of flesh in return,she says, and there is no sympathy in it. mostly approval.
if he returns, feel free to flay him at the border.—for gjalla did not take kindly to those who ripped into her own.
her head tips a fraction, the long curtain of dark fur along her neck shifting with the motion. the valley behind her lies still, open and waiting, but her attention does not leave eirwen for long.
it will be good to have you here.gjalla says.
are you hungry? there are fish active beneath the lake's ice—we could catch some while we talk,