Wolf RPG

She had been here longer than anticipated, and grown accustomed to it. The visits from the medical woman - either Blue Willow or her daughter - were fleeting now, brief or so limited that Eigma was left alone more often than not, but it was alright. The pain had become minimal in that time. Eigma had taken to walking to and from the stream every couple of days, the way Dante had shown her, and found peace upon the bank, where the tall reeds are littered by a touch of ice. The caches she has made are not bursting, but they are peppered along the route nonetheless, and it is the cache system which has piqued her interest in the early evening hours. She paces alongside the nearest sandbar, wondering if there is anything of value washed up tonight, but is quickly caught off-guard by the sunset. Beside her, she hears a voice - her mind crackles with the name of her sister - but she doesn't give in to the temptation of looking around, instead rooting her attention upon the sky.

the girl, eigma, had been healing silently in the verdant places of donnelaith. with all that had transpired, taltos had not thought to seek her out until behati's demotion reminded him. the gap in the ranks must be filled; the pack would welcome another for that reason, and so he picked up the trail of her scent and followed the child to the iced edges of the lake. giving a low chuff in her direction, the druid approached with a gently waving plume. would she depart them now? or had her stay here inspired eigma to remain, to join their knit family?

'Come home, Eigma.' The voice spread like the rushing stream, first in one ear, and then seemingly in the other, as if it were water. Her ear twisted, and she blinked up at the sky - 'I miss you, little sister,' - and for a few moments, Eigma drifted. She spied the moon for a moment, barely registering with all the clouds skewing her vision, but glowing distantly. The longer she focused on the moon, the slower time went.

And then there was a sound beside her; something to ground her. She turned her head sharply, startled by it, and saw Lasher on his approach. No doubt he was here with an important question, one which required answering. But she did not feel inclined to bring it up yet. The stars still called to her - her sister's voice still hung in the air - and she wasn't quite herself. All the same, Eigma passed him a thin smile, and invited him closer with a small nod of her chin.

she did not speak, but he came forth when she motioned him, and stood in affable quietude at her side. lasher knew very little about the girl, but he trusted she would be a valuable asset to donnelaith, once she had found her rank and footing among them. the silence stretched on, but he decided he would not be the one to disturb it. the twittering sounds of birdsong filled the air, and taltos breathed in the cold freshness of winter.

She had been visited a few times by the wolves here - mostly the medics, and lately by Dante, - but it was rare to see Lasher. His presence made her aware of the mental calendar she had been keeping; perhaps she had overstayed her welcome and he was here to usher her away. It had been their agreement, after all. And after being susceptible to his kindness, she wasn't about to fall short of her side of the bargain. Eigma ignored the pressing sensation at the back of her mind, that which rooted her sister's ghost in place, and adressed the leader in somber tones.

"With help from Dante, I filled my first caches. I've been tending to them since." The pack would not suffer for their kindess, Eigma made sure of that. "And I left a few gifts with the herbs, things that you - or your new children - may find useful." She was no mother herself, and never vied for such a status, but she could appreciate the work that was ahead of Lasher and his mate. "Congratulations on their healthy birth." This was not why he visited her today, but Eigma was resistant to that vein of the conversation - perhaps afraid that if she spoke of it, the end would come. She did not wish to leave these trees behind.

he listened as she listed what she had done for the pack, as if she needed in some way to prove herself before requesting admittance. lasher was silent for some time once eigma had finished, but soon dipped his head to her. "thank you. we are blessed that they are well." there was an unspoken thought lingering betwixt them -- he did not speak of it immediately, nor did he expect that the woman would do such. 

yet presently, quietly grateful that dante had assisted the healing she-wolf despite his misgivings, he turned his gaze upon eigma. "you have done us many greatnesses. there is a place for you here, if you would like."

She smiled at his words, curiously surprised by his suggestion that she stay. It was what she wanted, what she'd been searching for. "I have done very little. You saved me." There was a great debt to be repaid; filling a few caches was not enough. Perhaps pledging herself to the wolves of Donnelaith (and to him) would be enough. But she did not protest against the offering. "I.. Would like to stay." Eigma nodded thoughtfully, and took a deep breath of the now familiar air. She couldn't imagine being anywhere else. "Sir, I.. I owe you my life. And I'll commit everything I have to this place, to your family, and to you." She had always wanted to follow a worthy king. This pack was her home now, what she'd always dreamed of. She would not squander this opportunity.

lasher modestly did not accept her claim that he had saved her; he had only contributed to such. after all, there had been three wolves that surrounded her that day, kept her safe from death and the elements. he could almost sense that eigma steeled her nerves, before she parted her jaws to ask him for a place among his ranks, offering a promise of her fealty. "you will be my eta. in truth, i had already counted you as a member here," he revealed with a warm beam.

His kindness never ceased. She was amazed by it. Surprised by how open and accepting he was, for a pack wolf - the antithesis of what she'd been raised to believe about their kind. In time Eigma would learn many things from him and the other wolves here. Perhaps her prejudice would be eradicated; for now, she was pleased to be a part of something again. Maybe this was the place she had been hunting for, the king she was eager to follow.

"Thank you." It was the only thing she could say now; overwhelmed by the proposition, by the feelings that rose up in her heart and mind. She was a pack wolf now - a wolf of Donnelaith - and would remain firmly loyal to her new family for as long as she was breathing.