Wolf RPG

She had gone down to the seashore at the earliest convenience, sunlight just beginning to splash across the sky in bands of fire. It took some effort to find a safe passage down from the cliffs -- Eigma eventually wound her route quite a distance from Donnelaith's borders before securing a path -- and when she returned, she came bearing gifts. The light had dimmed across the sky by this point; no longer did the sea and sky resemble a rolling inferno, but rather a pale yellow remained, and the sun was warm today. There was a large cthonic beast hanging from her mouth, or so it seemed. The bulk of it was feathered -- a gull perhaps -- but beyond that, held in her molars, was a dry and brittle starfish crusted with barnacles. Eigma was careful as she slunk back up the ridge, and once she passed the invisible line in to her home, she carefully placed these things upon the ground. 

The gull was still alive. When released, it gave a wheezy but defiant call, as if protesting would keep the reaper at bay. There was a puncture to the base of one wing and a red stain across its breast, indicating the damage that Eigma had done to subdue it; once it was free, it tried to stand and flap its wings, but could not persist in that regard. Eigma watched it -- not out of some strange new sense of psychological desire, some malevolence, but simply because it moved. She licked blood and salt from her lips, and began to inspect the other gift for possible issues. The starfish was intact thankfully, and now it was only a matter of figuring out the best way to approach Lasher with these oddities.

aria had been gone for some time following the attack on donnelaith, and lasher feared for her. he had faith in the young beta's intelligence, that she had not gone traipsing in search of the ruffians, but if the beach was now an inhospitable place, she must not go there. each day he waited upon the borders, but taltos would only allot a amount of time yet before he must go to search for her. 

as the sun began to pull its coverlets o'ertop itself, nuzzling into the far cliffs to find its night-bed, taltos watched eigma return and pad over the borders, mouth filled with things he could not see from here. despite his worry over the pale sylph, amusement sparked in the druid, and he stepped to meet her.

a gull flapped weakly on the loam, its wing dragging, its breast bloodied. lasher peered curiously at it before his attention was taken by the yellow star object. eigma sniffed around the pair, and the alpha rocked back upon his haunches, quiet until she had finished her inspection.

Approaching him proved to be unnecessary, as he spotted her rather quickly. He approached while Eigma was inspecting the starfish for breaking; it was dry and quite brittle, having faded to a desaturated purple tone sometime upon the beach. The bird ambled about, clearly afraid. The shock caused by its wound - and the blood loss - made it docile.

"Lasher," the woman muttered, tone sharp with surprise only because she hadn't anticipated being found so quickly. A smile passed over her features, and she stepped back from the star on the ground. "I brought you some gifts." She was still thankful for his aid from before, but this was different. This wasn't entirely for him. "I thought maybe your wife would like this."

She licked salt from her lips, and then settled her attention on the wounded bird; noticing the attention of two wolves now, the gull's beak opened as if to screech, but it was too weary to make a sound. "And this was for your children. I remember being gifted with similar things as a child by friends of my mother." It hadn't even entered her mind that maybe Lasher's brood was too young for such things.

gift. he was pleased by this; the pair of offerings were a pleasant surprise. he inspected the starfish with a gentle nudge, admiring its exotic appearance against the snow, and then cast a glance at the gull. the little witches were too young to slay it, but perhaps he would bring to the den and allow them to practice their killing bites with their small sharp teeth. "thank you, eigma," he murmured gently, thinking of how blessed he was that the girl was part of donnelaith. 

"how have you fared?" he asked softly, remembering how she had come to the aid of her pack during the onslaught by the two madwolves. to this day, taltos could not imagine why they had attacked, why they had chosen his peaceful encampment. perhaps, with hope, they would not come again.

Eigma felt a warmth brewing in her chest which spread through her body, and was content. Lasher seemed to enjoy the gifts - the juxaposition of starfish in snow was not lost upon her either - although she had little to say as a response. Her attention drifted to the injured bird; but she spoke to the man before her, not entirely present. "I am doing well. I understand the limits of your land now -- the fierce nature of your wolves. They way they came to the defense of your children was spectacular," her gaze glossed over a bit, but she swiftly returned to herself. "I mean, it was an awful thing. But it showed the great power of Donnelaith, and the power of your rule." A small smile, perhaps a bit awkward, crept across her features.

Licking her lips, the woman's interest in the bird continued. She took quiet strides towards it, around it, and the creature fumbled to stay clear of her. "Where I was raised, we learned to defend ourselves quickly against all manner of small, weak things." Mostly ducks and otters, actually. There was no sea where Eigma hailed from, or she'd likely have been drowned by a seal at an early age. "Perhaps it is not your way here. But... I feel it might be beneficial to tutor everyone, especially the smallest ones, in how to stay safe." That was a proposal she hadn't thought to make before; it dawned on her as she spoke, and then Eigma was left looking curiously towards Lasher.

he accepted her praise, though he did not think himself worthy of it, and there was but one correction he would make: "you are my wolf also, eigma." no need to hold herself aside from them, for she was a member of donnelaith, and one that had proven herself. he too had had admired the way that the wolves of his pack had surged together as one, to both protect their land and the young. the future of the pack rested not only in deirdre and emaleth, but the whole of donnelaith also.

"it is in our blood to move as one," the man murmured softly. his eyes watched the girl with interest as she came 'round to her suggestion; he pondered if for a moment, before granting her a nod. "i think that would be of great worth to donnelaith. how do you propose to teach the small ones?"

He had one slight correction which he broached softly, and she smiled. Yes, of course... I am. She nodded, but held still while listening to more of his voice. Lasher had a nice voice - filled with care and calm. Things that she was still not used to, but found enjoyable.

As for teaching the children - and anyone else interested - Small game. Games using game... Or, well, she had fumbled herself a bit with that, and chose to restart after letting loose a tiny chuckle. By bringing gifts such as this bird to the children, and having them try their hand at hunting. I started at an age no much older than they are now, on mice. I imagine it would be simple enough to get them started. If they have an affinity, I can tutor them.

he gave a wave of his plume, granting her this. eigma had proven herself to be a trustworthy individual, and if she was able to impart unto the babes skills that would increase their safety, he of course would be no obstacle. at any rate, it would be interesting to see how eigma offered her skills to emaleth and deirdre, and how they took to it. "i am intrigued."

moreso was he piqued by mention of the girl's homeland, about which he had not heard before. the curiousness of his spirit wished to inquire more about it, but such was eigma's determination to share. he would not pry, merely listen.

Did the wolves here not use such activities to strengthen themselves? It made her wonder. How different was her life prior to this world of packs and families? He gave a soundless go-ahead to her desires, and Eigma was thankful; she would begin scouring the territory for tiny things to present to the children, and soon. If the gull was too large for them now, then in to a cache it would go.

Prompted by Lasher's final comment, Eigma decided to elucidate on the topic of her homeland. Perhaps he would not care for it - in which case she would stop, collect her thoughts, and move on - but he seemed genuinely interested. I must admit, I am surprised by your kind. It was an offhand comment, but after stating it she realized it sounded a bit odd. I mean, as a pack wolf. Logically there is safety in numbers, so perhaps that is why there is a... not exactly lazy attitude towards physicality, but... she didn't know how to word this without sounding callous or rude. Eigma paused to try and reorder her thoughts.

For instance, in my homeland of Skigamslet, it was every wolf for themselves. A pack was a loose construct - there were more rogues than anything, and not one of them wanted the be ruled. So it served a purpose to train a child from the earliest convenience to fight. It wasn't a bad life. Eigma herself had been rather fond of the games she played with her mother, although her sister had always been the better warrior. Fera was always the one to get the killing blow; they worked as a team. Is my desire to train your children... Strange? As the question left her lips, the woman watched Lasher; she was curious, but feeling a bit like a fish out of water for her diatribe. Eigma was looking out for the well-being of her King's progeny in the best way she knew how, which did not necessarily line up with the natural order of things.

lasher settled himself as eigma began to speak, finding himself quickly enthralled by the savage and spartan world she described. skigamslet -- he had never heard the name before, but it swiftly brought to mind the round and guttural language used by siku and by tonravik. different, to be certain, this hidden culture of eigma's, but not strange. for all their seemingly warlike ways, she had come out of it a gentle and even shy creature.

when she had finished speaking, he shook his head. "your desire to train my children is indicative of why i should trust you," the druid rejoined, a soft curve to his mouth. "it is not often that wolves share so freely, not only of their own culture, but themselves and their skills."

in his mind, eigma fit well -- she was a hidden fighter with a delicate appearance, the sort of deception taltos greatly admired.

He was accepting of her, willing to listen without comment. And when he did speak, Lasher's voice was welcome. Eigma felt a smile slip across her face again and this time, she did not try to hide it. I wouldn't say that Skigamslet has any culture. They're like a mold more than anything. The joke slipped from her lips but fell a bit flat, she thought. Moving on, But thank you. I didn't expect to enjoy my life as a pack wolf, after all I'd heard. You make it a bearable experience -- well, more than bearable. Her gaze wandered as she spoke, and it seemed as if her mind also drifted, to the point where Eigma wasn't really paying attention to what came out of her mouth. It wasn't a hugely detrimental comment to be voicing; she was appreciative more than anything. 

I'll leave you with the gull then. The poor bird had almost bled out during the conversation; it looked sleepy, with its feet held under its belly and its head resting comfortably upon its chest. Eigma realized then, that the air smelled thickly of blood. If it is too large for your children, I will find something more suitable for their first lesson.

the smile that came to rest upon her features lit eigma's face with a soft glow, one in which the druid was happy to bask as the girl waxed on, sharing more words in this interlude than she had since coming to donnelaith. a greater picture she gave unto the man, and his own mouth curved into a bow, pleased that he had made her time in his pack enjoyable. 

"i will take it to them if you think they are old enough to attempt killing blows." in truth, lasher's softer nature insisted that, after eigma departed, he would mercifully dispatch the wounded gull, for he did not enjoy the suffering of any beast. however, he would not mention such to the girl,  grateful as he was for her help with the training of the children.

There was nothing more to discuss - or rather, Eigma worried that the gull would expire before the children could attempt anything with it. So when Lasher spoke those words she took them as the final bit of the conversation, nodded softly, and departed. She would head back to the beach for further scouting - or maybe to the fringes of the territory, with the hope of scaring up a hare or a small bird that was still drowsy from the chill of winter.