ingram was not simply content to find one person to ask of his new task ("how can i be a good father?") - he had to ask several. given that aurewen was out, and the rest of the men in diaspora were downright unapproachable to a little lamb like ingram, he did the noble thing and set out from diaspora. he was sure (in a stupidly hopeful way) he'd find answers, wherever he went.
he did not go far.
this was not a lack of momentum on his part, but rather, the extraordinary display of golden sunlight pouring through the lair in the honeyed manner of a pleasing summer ale. ingram paused in surprise to witness such a spectacular sunset through the lens of the lair; it was like bright pylons of gold, trickling down into a subterranean dusk. every line was edged in aural brilliance, sheens of dark brass and rich copper fading to umber.
rather than continue on his way he sat there a moment, appreciating the rare finery nature had to offer; these days, it seemed he never stopped to smell the roses.
the sunset is golden & endless & spinning down into a twilight which could scatter every which way.
there was a time in which she would have felt comfortable lingering here, when youth and naievete protected from the breath of war on the horizon. tick-down months have taught her to be more guarded than that. the no man's land between two packs was no place for a woman to be.
but oh, how this place reminded her of home —
home! what makes a home? what is its architecture? its structure? & (what is this phenomena that should cause her to leave behind everything she'd ever known?) she presses her crown to the earth and drinks deep the smell of it. it centers her. she moves on.
when she came to the lair, ink-cut silhouette limned in a twilit halo, she paused. she could smell the herb behind him. she could smell the young upon him. his own or not, she couldn't tell, but, (it is that season, after all, redsong —)
hello,
she calls warmly, a little distantly, pulled to this stranger for the treasure at his back.
it should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with ingram, that he did not notice company until it spoke to him. he'd like to believe it was because he was so distracted by the spectacular tapestry of golden light that he hadn't noticed her slip in, but that's not the reason. the frank reason is, ingram sucked at being observant -- blame it on his genetics or the fact a bear had maybe cracked his head open.
he flinched, coming too with a jerk of his head and a jostle of his body towards the sound. it had come from a woman -- her voice warm and fur afire. whether it was natural, or the cause of the golden rays that settled around her, ingram could not tell -- all he could guarantee was that she was edged in a color of scarlet almost as breathtaking as the auburn filigree fringing the lair's walls.
"oh, hi," he began, almost unsure except for the fact she seemed to exude some sort of approachability he was not used to. the diasporans were a grim lot, many cut of a marble far sterner than him. "uh, am i intruding?"
until he spoke he could've passed as a stone-carved gargoyle, but his words pried a laugh from her belly that was not terribly far out of reach. you, intruding?
she casts a sly look over her shoulder and cuts a paw across the air between them. i thought it'd be me.
the wolves of great blue were friendly, and one bad experience
(one hellish, traumatic experience)
could not break from her a lifetime of kindness.
she moves closer, whitecap tail moving gently behind her. what an evening. did you come out here to watch the sunset, or...?
ingram had been holding his breath as he awaited an answer; the lair was so lovely he was sure it was claimed, but the airy laugh sounding from the mistress was enough to surcease his ebbing doubts. she seemed far kindlier than what he was used to, her tail eliciting the gentle wag of his own in return -- suddenly there seemed two rays of sunlight in the cavern rather than one.
"i didn't know this was here," ingram admitted, wondering if she had known of this treasure -- he certainly had not, but now that he was here he almost never wanted to leave.. except, well, blodreina. that was reason enough, as much as the view was otherworldly. "but it seems so peaceful." he glanced to the woman, hoping he would not be ridiculed for admiring something as soft as a shared view.