Wolf RPG

He rose with the dawn - a practice that had almost been curtailed by the arrival of the children, but now persisted with the growing restlessness of the small family. Pale light poked at his eyes, prodding until they opened, and Njal slipped out from the warmth of the den; he left Tuwawi to tend to the babes for now. In a few hours they too would be awake... And Njal wanted some time to think and to reflect. It wasn't a common thing for the warden to do, but with the oncoming change, he felt the desire to once more trace his steps along familiar routes.

He had passed by Lethe's Rest a few days prior - where he had briefly encountered a young woman, Kaskara - and now Njal wove a across a different trail. The plains stretched out around him and in the far distance, he could make out the subtle wiggle upon the horizon - that will be ours soon, he thought with a twitch of his nose, mine and yours, my Proudheart. He wasn't sure how he felt at this point about moving. It had seemed like the right idea, and they were ready for it, but...

At the same time, Njal felt unnerved by the manner in which Tuwawi had brought it up during the meeting. It had no doubt blindsided Bazi. He had no desire to alienate one of his dearest friends. While he pondered, the silver beast wandered until he came upon a familiar scent - the unmistakable aroma of the pale leader, entwined with that of Scimitar's masculine musk.

Bazi was an.. erratic riser, if such a thing existed. Sometimes she would rise before dawn, ready to begin the day - other times she was slow to get moving, covering her eyes with her paws and pretending dawn was far off.

Today she was awake, crisscrossing the territory with no real aim in mind - hunt? Wake someone up and force them to talk to her? She had been doing a lot of talking, lately.. all with an ulterior motive; the better she got to know these wolves, the more likely they were to stay. Every conversation was time spent cultivating.

It seemed Njal had the same idea. By the time she spotted him, he had no doubt already spotted her - nothing except complete darkness could disguise Bazi. They hadn't really spoken since the meeting, though Bazi had shared the Sveijarn den after her heart-to-heart with Tuwawi. There hadn't been much room for serious conversation then, and now .. well, what was the point? They were leaving, and there was nothing she could do.

"I've assigned Danica to you, to help," she called to him over the waving grass. "Provided her shoulder heals up."

And thus, with his head raised attentively and every sense attuned to his surroundings, the pale girl came forth. She seemed eager enough to be in his company, and Njal felt his tail give a satisfied twitch at this thought; but the words that met his ears made the motion freeze, and his tail hang limply to his hocks.

"I've assigned Danica to you, to help," she called to him over the waving grass. "Provided her shoulder heals up."

Njal heard this and his ears twitched, but other than that, the warden gave little attention to the information. He was pleased to have aid, of course. It had been his words at the meeting - requesting help from their able-bodied friends and family - that had wooed Bazi's opinion. But he still felt a bit stale at the pronouncement. Like he was taking something vital, stealing something which he had no right to. His voice rumbled a blase, "Thank you," but he was only standing on ceremony now; being polite to a leader who would not be his leader for long.

They had been close. Friends, at the very least. Hunting partners - the three of them, really. Himself, Bazi, Danica, routing foxes in lieu of the birth of the pups. And now what? Njal couldn't help but think that something had been irrevocably damaged at the meeting. He moved suddenly, taking a few swift strides in order to drag himself closer to the white girl. Njal watched her for a moment, studying the familiarity of her face.

"I am sorry that the request came out the way it did." He wasn't apologizing for Tuwawi's eagerness, but it sort of felt like that. As the words came out, Njal tried to steady his thoughts. "But I am thankful that you are helping us. You are family to me, and to Tuwawi," There was warmth there, in his words. "You will always be welcome to visit us and the children."