The Sentinels a skeleton whisper

Being super vague, just wanted to get something up. For @Lasher maybe, if you want?

The woman was broken, but not alone. After some time, the strangers caring for her vanished; she was left in the care of others, her body carefully moved, pulled towards the coast. It was hit-or-miss for a while. Eigma didn't know where she was for most of it, or how long she was drifting. She thought she heard her sister's voice more than once. It was entirely possible that they had held a conversation too, but by this point Eigma couldn't remember. 

She woke in the early evening with the expectation that her sister would be by her side - but instead there were only monolithic trees; she had been walled in by old growth and long dead logs, all of which was very foreign. In her confusion, Eigma forced herself to stand, to stagger about, calling with a strained voice: "H-hello?" But even before the sound could find its way through the frost, she was quiet again. Disoriented.

The memory of falling down the mountain was lost to her. She did not recall the strangers who kept her body warm and fed, nor the trek all the way to the Sentinels. It slipped away like a dream, and all that was left was befuddlement.

his patrols were not long, for each waking moment was given over to watching his daughters grow. yet the druid knew that he must keep safe their new land, for its crux and details were still unexplored, and snow fell plentifully. no storms had they yet weathered, but lasher was sure that they were coming, for the sea crashed and roiled in her anger not far off. the scent of salt was something to which he had grown accustomed; his nares and eyes no longer stung with the brine when he drew fragrances from the border.

eigma. he knew the scent of the she-wolf before he spotted her multi-hued pelt and bright eyes. donnelaith's ranks were full -- he could not give the wolfess succor now -- but he gave a short bark all the same, rangy stride lengthening to bring him to her side.

The stranger appeared soon enough, probably due to being within earshot when she woke. As he approached, Eigma realized that she recognized him. Her mind flit back to the fall, to thoughts of the shadows passing around her and the sounds of voices. Her eyes narrowed in thought, but she couldn't make much sense of what went through her mind.

"Oh, you." The man who had been gathering eggs. Eggs. "You - and someone else - you saved me." Her ears fell back, humbled by the remembrance, and smiled weakly. Her wounds weren't entirely gone yet; in another week or two, maybe she'd be able to breathe without feeling the pain in her sides. "Thank you."

she spoke, and he listened with a gentle expression. there was no need for humility, no need to thank the druid for doing that which he felt was a humane gesture  -- he certainly hoped such would be extended to him in his time of need. "you are worthy of life," lasher said simply. donnelaith's ranks were filled - he sighed, that he could not bring eigma into the fold, but surely she would understand. "how do you intend to weather the coming storms?" he inquired, still concerned for her well-being, as she was not completely mended.

A wry smile crept across her face. There was little she could do but sit and wait, let her body mend. Hopefully the cold weather would not be harsh this year, or she would surely succumb to it. "I don't know." A small sigh wheezed from her snout, and she winces softly with the exertion. Her ribs are not pleased by the heavy breath. "I suppose... I'll stay here as long as you'll let me." Eigma's gaze traced the male's features, wondering if she was being too forward with the pronouncement; these were his lands, and charity only went so far with some people. "Once my body... is fit enough... I will leave, or sooner if you ask. I do not wish to... To burden you, or your kin." And she had her sister to find. The fact that her sister was a delusion did not register for Eigma at this point. It was enough to keep her going.

he wanted to accept her willingly, wildly, but he knew that the decision was not his alone to make. "stay until you are mended, eigma," lasher murmured, "but bring whatever food you are able to hunt to our caches. it will make the difference in your stay here. even rodents are welcome, or edible plants." in this would he allow the woman a shelter, provided she earned it through contributions, and though he suspected dante would not be pleased with his decision, perhaps this rule would soften the beta's heart somewhat. "do you agree?" he asked gently.

She nodded at his proposal. It was a kind offer, the kind of thing she had always wanted. To live here among the trees - presumably forever - nearly took her breath away. There wasn't much of a breath within her to begin with. "I will do my best." Her voice was tired, breathy, like a sigh more than a statement; but it was a promise too. Lasher was saving her life in so many ways, the least she could do was replenish the stores from which she borrowed. 

Out of energy suddenly, Eigma sighed softly. She turned as if to walk back in to the small burrow that had been dug for her - something hasty but effective - and bowed her head to the kind leader. "I will.. Rest. Thank you again."

fade with another post from you? <3

he did not like to see her so weak, so vulnerable; a whine rose in his throat before he could trample it with the propriety befitting a leader. "yes. rest," he agreed, watching the she-wolf slide into her half-made burrow. it was upon the tip of his tongue to ask if she had been seen by his mate, or aria, or eilidh, but the man could call any one of them here. perhaps not his mate, concerned as she was with the babes, but his daughter or the pale girl might be of use to eigma. lasher stood for one last helpless moment, then turned to head for the whelping den, to update the healer of their ward's progress.