Deep in the silence

ooc: I will backdate this to 25. December, if that is ok with you.

It was time for Osprey to leave - the fear of leaving the territory, the rush of panic every time she heard (or thought she did) the footfalls of the deer, the occasional nightmares of her being amidst the stampede - those demons hadn't left her entirely. They were still present, still living, but for once she had learned to gain control over them rather than let them rule her. The pull to return home, where her friends and whatever was left of her family waited, had grown too strong for her to resist. She couldn't stay here any longer than she had already. She had to go, she had to return.

However, it would be impolite and ungrateful for her to go without thanking those, who had taken such good care of her. Therefore she was seeking out Ragnar - the white beast - who had been first to find her and offer a place to stay. He was the spirit of the pack just as much as Thistle was and she hoped that - just in case she didn't happen to meet his mate - he would forward her words of gratitude. Osprey had found her way to the place, where Ragnar's specific scent was the strongest, but feeling unsure of, whether calling him out would be the right thing to do, she sat down and waited.

For a while now Ragnar now I have been considering resigning from his place as Jarl of Stavanger Bay, in the interest of keeping his barely scraping by pack alive with another able body in the non-leader ranks. The consideration of giving up all that he worked tirelessly for was a hard pill to swallow but he was beginning to feel that he could no longer rely on the Gods alone. It was obvious that Odinn wanted something more from him (as if his eye were not enough) and so it was theae thoughts that haunted him day and night. He kept them close to him, hiding them from Thistle, from his children in foster children. When he was ready, what are you contemplating the idea bit more and out until settled on the resolve to actually go through with it, having convince himself it was the only way that he would speak to her about it. His duties as a Jarl and a father left him a little time to sneak away to check on the pack's ward. The woman who he had found well over his borders from Blacktail Deer Plateau, that Thistle i've been tending to. The Viking and not forgotten her presence, of course, but his priorities had to come first, especially with the pack struggling as it was.

It was a sweep of the borders, methodical to give him time to focus more on his thoughts; he remained alert anything out of the norm as per usual. And also brought him right to the Plateau female in question. With his singular eye Ragnar observed her, nothing that she looked healthier than she had when he'd found her, perhaps delirious and shaken up as she had been. Ragnar had known all along that Peregine I branched off from the Plateau, but as far as he was aware Blue Willow still remained in the Plateau as a leader and as far as he's concerned it was reason enough to aid the woman. Blue Willow and him were acquaintances at the very least.

"How are you feeling?" The Jarl inquired towards the Plateau woman as his steps ceased so that he was situated before her, a few steps away. After a moment, he settled upon his haunches, keeping a scarred ear cocked towards the free territories outside his borders just in case.

Ragnar appeared what it seemed to Osprey from nowhere. She had been deep in thoughts and jumped, when he spoke to her. "Oh... hello," she said, casting a quick glance up at the white beast and turning her gaze away almost immediately. His scarred face and missing eye were a bit frightening to look at for long, even though she knew (and hoped) that he wasn't going to do any harm to her.

"I am well," she said, lifting her muzzle and focusing her gaze at some point on his cheek. "In fact, I came here to tell that I am leaving," she continued and a weak smile appeared in her lips. "I wanted to thank you and Thistle for the care and that you let me stay here."

The Plateau woman, Ragna observed, was a rather jumpy creature. This observation had given way to the fact that she had appeared startled at the sound of his voice. The Northman watched as her gaze went to his face and then diverted away just as quickly. The mark of Odinn upon the left half of his face, nothing more than a collection of apparently random scars intentionally made by Floki in honor of the Allfather, had disfigured the pristine handsomeness that had once caused Ragnar to catch the eye of many a foreign young girls, marring him and rendering that half of his face repulsive. Likely, the three new claw marks over his now empty eye socket the perfect size and width of a racen's talins did not make that side of his face any more bearable to look at. Ragnar had never been a shallow creature and much preferred the marr of scars — each telling the story of its own. Experience but everything in his world, and scars were another way to judge how much knowledge one had. Even as a young child Ragnar had lived by the principle that he would rather go into battle with a man with scars that showed that the stories he told were true and had fought and that he came out alive as opposed to a green boy preening his fur that flinched at the thought of bearing scars of any kind. Osprey responded to his question that she was well, and continued on to say that she was here to tell him she was leaving. Ragnar had expected this, of course. She was not a Bay wolf and did not belong there. In hindsight the only reason he had allowed her to stay and he'll had not been out of the kindness of his heart rather because he had something of a relatively okay standing with the plateau wolves though Peregrine was no longer among them. I know it was quiet when she thanked him, fairly sure that in a matter of days it would not matter why he had done it because he would no longer lead this Bay beside his queen. The benefit of the pack would always come first for him, even if it meant sacrifice what he was meant to do to see it better off that it was now. Already he had given his eye. So he would give his rank too; just for a little while though, he determined. Until the Bay back on its feet and stay there steady. "I have no quarrel with the Plateau wolves and I know it's Blue Willow and Junior, she is my adopted ward." What rank Blue Willow currently held he couldn't say but likelihood been those reasons alone saved Osprey's life and gave her a place of refuge to heal; and Junior Ragnar would never forget.

The fact that Ragnar knew some of the plateau's wolves didn't come as a surprise for Osprey. She had been informed that Junior had stayed here for a while during the summer, that Plateau was forever indebted to these people - now even more for the favor they had done for her. She drew together that she was the second "osprey" to be here and wonder, whether there were going to be more in the line. It would be funny and ironic at the same time - come to think of it.

"Blue willow is my friend and Junior happens to be my niece," she told him, for the lack of having anything better to say. "In fact - she was named after me and is the third Osprey in the Redleaf line," she went on explaining, hoping that she wasn't boring the man with the details of her family history. "If you don't mind me asking - what happened to your eye?"

It appeared that there was quite a story behind, which Osprey did not fully understand. A short while after that she bid her goodbyes and left for the long way back home.

ooc: since this is very old and outdated I added a quick ending to render it from going dead.