Wolf RPG

It was late when she retired to her den, remembering the plans she'd had to widen the entrance, and perhaps make the inside just a little bit bigger. If Szymon could be persuaded to share with her, little would make her happier than making her home with his.

Wiggling through the narrow opening, Doe stood for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness within. The familiar scent of herbs and sweet, old meats filled the place - and the faint scent of Szymon that'd come off her own fur and lined the walls of her den with his warm presence. How much nicer will it be when I can sleep with his live-scent beside me?

All was well. There was joy to be had. The sea was beautiful, the bay inviting, and wolves were coming out of the woodwork to pledge themselves to her Leviathan. Doe was happy.

And then, she wasn't Doe at all.

"Shink," she whispered, seeing the milk-white bone poking out of the sand. Carefully, she nosed him out of the hole she'd dug for him, where the cool den air could better be reach. "Shink, I..."

She what? What was she? A witch? A doctor? A doe? A high, anxious whine escaped her, and she gaped at the milky interloper, one side of her face twitching in a way she could not control. Anxiety long supressed rose once again to the surface as questions she'd been trying not to dwell on rushed through her mind.

Oh, Szymon... how do I tell you about this? How do I tell you that the day we met, I was saving this bone from the water because I thought it was my child? What will you think of me then?

How did I get here? Where is Riverbone? Who am I?

And what will Skellige say when he finds out you are not a witch? That you have no say over any blessing, and that it is not the sea you hear, but your own madness? He will cast you out. If you are lucky, he will kill you.

Sweet Szymon, will you let me alone if your brother bids you? Can I take that chance?

Silly girl. He'll never follow you if you leave this land.

Where is this land? Where did I come from? How do I get back - I have to get back. Shink needs to grow up where it's safe, where our father lives.

Dusk faded and gave way to night. Thoughts flickered endlessly through the shewolf's mind, and she chased them as far as her tired legs would carry her, and then found that she hadn't moved at all. It seemed that as soon as she'd thought of the answer to a question, the question just disappeared.

When dawn found her, she wasn't sure there'd been a question at all. But Shink - this bone... it had to go. Should she take it and cast it into the sea, where the tides might bring it back to her? Where the sea might pull it in and question it, and know of the darkness in her heart? Wouldn't it be better... wouldn't it be right to put it back where she'd found it, and perhaps lay all these dark spirits to rest?

But Doe is the sea, vast and churning. Her thoughts are quickly scattered - blood in the water - and Shink sinks down to the dark depths of her mind.

Outside the den, a seabird calls. Abruptly, all is right once more. Doe emerges feeling a little more tired than she usually does in the morning - but she'd stayed up late last night, hadn't she?