Test of Alliances || Kasha, August & Rye
Several weeks after the King’s visit, Rye’s mornings were less predictable than they had been before. Before, he had been concerned with Court proceedings, often being at the castle even when he wasn’t strictly needed, always with Keelin in tow. Now though, his mornings alternated between days wandering through the Shambles or Nightshade Row, for no particular reason other than looking for some kind of direction that he knew he wouldn't find there, and running through the forests that bordered Belladonna and the Wolf Clan lands, training with his bow and arrow, or just running with Nissa for the sake of running. It never accomplished anything, but it gave him a peace of mind, if only for a short time.
And about every third or fourth day, a messenger would arrive from the castle, knock, and leave the same letter at the door every time when Rye didn’t answer. Today, Rye picked up the letter and tossed it onto the table with the others. He had only read the first couple, knowing the rest contained the same message: the upcoming weddings promised to change the political sphere of Midsummer, and the King wanted to ensure that the alliance with the Wolf Clan was as strong as ever. As such, he had made numerous requests for Rye to go and visit Kasha and speak with her about the upcoming weddings.
As much as Rye wanted to put off the request, the recent…. punishment, from the King for his failure to return Robin to the castle had made Rye more than a little reluctant to push his luck. Though he still knew the King would never hurt him, he was concerned with who the King would hurt in his stead.
So Rye carried his bow across his back, quiver of arrows over his shoulder, and set off on foot towards the Wolf Clan lands. It wasn’t far at all from his home, which made it easy to forgo taking Nissa along. Since his mother’s death in the war, just over three decades ago, Rye wasn’t sure if he was as welcome around the Clan, or if he just imagined that they all questioned why he still hung around. It still felt like his family, and with everything that had happened with the King recently, a small part of Rye wished that the Clan could be his only family. But without even having a blood relation still alive in the Clan, he knew it was a hollow wish.
Today he made a beeline for the center of the Wolf Clan lands, straight for Kasha’s tent. He spoke only brief pleasantries to a couple of Wolves that stopped him, mostly commenting on his three month long absence, to which Rye only responded vaguely about ‘familial obligations,’ which he assumed they all translated to mean ‘King’s orders.’ It wasn’t really a lie, as it did explain why he had been gone for over a month; it was just the last several weeks that he’d been avoiding contact with most people he knew, trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened.
“Chieftain,” he nodded his head respectfully to Kasha as he approached her outside of her tent. “May I have a moment of your time? The King sent me to speak with you,” he said, the words sounding too formal on his tongue. He had only referred to Oberon as King once in the presence of Kasha, right after she had become Chieftain of the Wolf Clan and he was sent as a messenger with a gift from the King and to assure her that even with the change in power, the Unseelies would stand strong beside the Clan. Since then, and before when he had known Kasha through his mother, he had only used the term ‘brother’ to refer to the King, as it felt less overbearing, and more like they were all family, or close and familiar allies at least. Now though, he couldn’t bring himself to use the familial term.
@lone-greywolf
@solitary-chief