There was a breath of agitation as the great inky wraith heaved a great sigh. He had done as he was instructed by the pale female; he had allowed the seaweed to stick to his neck and shoulder for longer than the two days she had demanded of him. When she had not returned on the second day, Skellige had found himself in a fury. The word of others was so easily discarded. His own knowledge of healing was thin; having never had to tend to his own wounds, the dark-furred titan was at something of a loss. Without the aid of the woman who had promised to return, he had simply been forced to cope with the seaweed as a part of him. He was not foolish enough to mess with the work she had done.
The Cairn male had kept to the bay for most of his healing process. He had not felt the need to risk causing worse damage to his body when he was aiming to take hold of the land and surround himself in followers. And while he would not admit it readily, the silver-ribbed savage was fearful that Ksenia would find him and seek to take advantage of his weak state. The colorless, foul, lying devil of a she-wolf could not have been far from him if she intended to return him home as she suggested.
He was no fool, though, and he would bide his time until he was capable of taking what he deserved. Until the gash on his neck had healed, he would remain on the shores of the bay and tend to the waters that lapped lazily there. Even in his condition, he was more than capable of fending for himself.
It was easy to reach the bay from Donnelaith, therefore it was no wonder, that in the days, when Osprey was allowed to wander more than few meters away from the den, where her children resided, she was a frequent visitor to the sea-side. Sometimes she would be lucky - the high tide would bring a lot of stuff to the shores - and she would have an hours worth of ploughing through the seaweeds and driftwood in search for clams, small crustaceans and in rare cases, fish or even bigger game.
She had done it today too - short quick trip to the beach, though at a first glance the sight was a bit disappointing. There was little to nothing worth taking there. Except... her eyes narrowed, as she caught sight of a dark figure in a distance. It was too far for her to tell, whether it was alive or not, but she decided to approach it carefully. Wouldn't it be grand, if it turned out to be a corpse? Just think, how many mouths it could feed!
There was a moment of surprise when the inky creature caught sight of an approaching stranger. He had thought for a moment that it was the emerald-eyed woman, returning to tend to him in the way she had promised. When the sun was not beating directly on the other wolf, he noted that she was painted in ash and not the freshly fallen powder of Deirdre’s coat. With a huff, he could feel himself growing more agitated with the thought that his healer had not returned to him.
Quite suddenly, the inky titan’s body came to life from its position in the sand, and he lifted his head so that he could crane his neck. A gruff noise was emitted from his mouth as he forced himself into a seating position and pointed his muzzle in the direction of the approaching stranger. His dark gaze flashed in a way that would appear to have been somewhat territorial. The lands were unclaimed, but he was a creature who had just gotten over an injury, and he truly had no grounds to throw someone from the bay.
Drawing his salmon-colored tongue across his dark mouth, he leered at the grey-coated woman who was traipsing on the beach, aimed for his position in the sands.
Osprey froze in her steps, when she saw the supposed corpse raise, and eyed it with fear-stricken eyes for a while. She was not a person, who believed the tales of the living and walking dead, and most likely this person was prettty much alive, but at this moment she had come pretty close to believe... something else.
The good thing was - it seemed that the other was just as wary of her as she was of him (or her for that matter), therefore she decided to quench her curiosity and continue her approach until she could make out a little more detailed look of the wolf. Though living, it still held an aura of being... plain scary. Especially with that sea-weed wrapped around his neck. Was he part of a cult?
She didn't start a conversation, just observed the person, waiting to see, what was he about to do.
The grey-coated female seemed to make pause in her journey once she had seen his body come to life, and truly there was reason to heed his figure. Though he had not actually risen from the dead, the dark wraith was closer to the land of the deceased than he was that of the living. Having taken very few companions in his life, he knew more of what it meant to take another creature’s life than he did to bringing life. Her assumption of him had not entirely been incorrect. Still, he remained in his position, eyes following her movements so that he could make sure she had no intention of flanking him.
The woman did not look at all familiar to him, though her coat coloration did remind him of his sister Ishild’s for a moment. This woman did not have the dark markings around her eyes, though. As she drew her figure closer to him, the male watched her with narrowed brows and a curling frown. Once she had closed some of the distance, he drew in the scent on her coat and instantly came to life.
“You have a healer in your pack. Small, pale, green eyes,” he remarked in a rumbling baritone. His words caused his lips to draw over his stained canines. “Does she still call the shores her home?”
Osprey took few steps backwards, when the odd wolf decided to draw nearer. She regarded him with a gaze full of distrust and even growled a little, in case he decided to close the distance between them even more. The first impression about the odd looking male was not good - he was definitely not a person you could feel comfortable to have a conversation with.
Rather than giving him an answer straight away, she felt more curious about the fact that he knew any of Donnelaith's healers. She also tried to decide, which of the two could have helped this guy and why. "How do you know her and what is that you want from her?" she asked.
At once the slate colored stranger became defensive, and the response that slipped from her muzzle was not kindly in the slightest. The wraith chuckled softly and shook his head from side to side. He was not even certain that this female knew who he spoke of, but he had been interested enough to inquire, so he would see it through. Drawing his head upward to show the seaweed that was wrapped along his neck and shoulder, the sea king flicked his eyes to her and frowned.
“She aided me when I was injured and said she would return, but has not,” he explained to this woman in a level tone. Best not to frighten her, he thought to himself with a wicked expression on his features. Osprey was rightfully wary of the wraith. Even his physical appearance commanded some sense of unease from most creatures that he happened upon. Skellige was not perturbed by her, though, and did quietly hope that she would know if Deirdre would be returning to finish tending to his wounds.
Often other people's choices of friends surprised Osprey. To think that sweet little Deirdre had gone so far as to help out a wolf like this (scary, untrustworthy, not very likeable - all her subjective and not very righteous opinion)... then again her father seemed to be drawn to the same sort too. The fact that Donnelaith had formed an alliance with Saltwinter - a pack that - rumours had it - had kidnapped and killed puppies was still like a salt in an open wound to her. A personal friendship to the leader was one thing, but one did not have to drag the whole pack in it. Especially... with rumours like that going around.
"I can tell her that you were looking for her," Osprey offered, though she decided to keep the choice of whether really doing it or not to her. The very idea that she could possibly take this guy as far as Donnelaith to get Deirdre treat him was impossible.
The nature of his relationship was far too young to be considered friendly. The inky titan had merely been offered the companionship of the young woman because the sea had willed it upon him. She had come to tend to the wound on his neck and shoulder, and – at that time – nothing more. The assumptions that Osprey had made internally about the great brute were close enough to his true nature. Though the slate-coated woman did not know him or where he hailed from, the apprehension in trusting him was not without cause. He had been birthed with the inky coat and savage expression as a warning for those passersby who happened upon him, just as she had.
When the girl spoke and made the effort to relay his message to Deirdre, the leviathan nodded his head slowly and drew his tongue across his muzzle and leathery lips. “That would be…” he paused for a moment, squinting his dark optics at the female, “greatly appreciated.” Though formalities were not the wraith’s forte, he could afford a few niceties in an effort to have his message delivered. Skellige was a skeptical brute, though, and thought that this wolf of the forest would hold tightly to his words instead of sharing them with the young healer of her pack.
While Osprey waited for the man's reply, she thought a little more about Deirdre and her loyalty to the trade. Perhaps it would not be good at all not to pass the message about this patient. Though he looked quite well at the moment (from what her inexperienced eye could tell), maybe he was really in need for a more exquisite treatment. More than just a sea-weed that was wrapped around man's shoulders.
Therefore she decided to make a compromise and ask: "Are you feeling ok now? Is there something improtant she should know? Aside from the fact that you are here and waiting?"
It seemed that her hesitation faded for a moment as she prompted him with questions of his wellbeing. The inky brute was not certain that he wanted to shed light on the injury on his shoulder with this female who had seemed wary of him and untrusting. The titan knew better than to share his weaknesses openly with those who were not trusted by himself or the mystics who watched over him. Her inquiries were left to linger in the air for a moment before the leviathan fixed her with his gaze and found himself breathing outward. If he did not share with her, she was unlikely to send his message along to the forest nymph who had tended to him.
“She instructed me not to touch the wrapping. I am fond of the sea, but I do not wish to keep its weeds attached to my being,” he answered her carefully.
"Fair enough - I will tell her that," Osprey replied, this time her tone wore a little bit of the "I promise I will" icing. And she would not ask the girl, why the odd choice of a friend or even patient. Leave this to her.
Feeling that there was even less for them to talk now that the most pressing matter had been discussed, she prepared herself to leave. Yet if there was anything else the man wanted Deirdre to know, she would stay here just a little longer to hear him out.
I'm going to get this archived <3
The titan bowed his head to her carefully at her second promise, noting the change in her tone this time. While he was not a creature who was capable of carrying on a successful conversation, Skellige felt as though he had managed well enough with this silver-bodied woman. It was time for her to leave, though, and he was not the type to prevent her from walking away. The two were not the type to have coexisted in any other universe; their personalities were vastly different to a point that they made each other uneasy. While the Donnelaith woman was not unkind, she was not someone he would have asked for in a crowd of wolves. She was her own being, though, and he could not fault her for that. They simply did not mesh.
They had discussed everything that was needed, and he had dipped his skull in a thankful manner to the female who had vowed to pass the word to Deirdre. That was all that was needed, and so he would allow her to depart without holding her there any longer. The sands would carry her back to her home and he would await the arrival of the pale woman of the forest to tend to his healing wound.