Wolf RPG

it had taken her some time, but tamar returned.

she stood in front of the den where @Aquene made her bed and her practice. "hello?"

somehow it did not appear that the woman was present. tamar glanced around. the furs traced her ankles as the wind bent toward her.

shrugging her shoulders, tamar stepped away to drink from the pool behind the tablinum.

Aquene was stiff, and still shaken though Kallik had helped settle her nerves quite a bit. She was making her way back to her den, knowing she still had a job to do even if she felt wholly uncomfortable with being alone… She moved with a hint of a limp, simply not used to the level of soreness that came with being what felt like body slammed into a wall.
 
She arrived to find the other woman there, and truthfully she let out a sigh of relief, knowing that she was not alone in a part of the territory so far away from the apartments as the tablinum was. “Tamar.” She greeted with a soft and friendly smile on her features, the relief in her eyes was hard to miss as well. “Is everything okay?” Her first concern was that the woman was somehow injured. “How have you been?” She had not had an opportunity to catch up from the woman, and she was desperately avoiding her own mind as well.

something was off.

tamar knew that the soldiers trained hard. arsenio himself had come home at night bruised quite often.

but there was an expression lingering around aquene's eyes that tamar knew well. she had worn a similar expression when it came to pass that she would not be left alone with ramesses.

"i brought you the beds. for the patients," she added with a hasty smile. her pale gaze searched the medicus. "i am well. and yourself?"

She had allowed herself time to recover, as much as she could in that moment… enough to pass as fine. She needed to be fine. She couldn’t help but view Mereo differently, like there would be judging gazes down her back so instead she tried to hold herself with the same genuine and friendly poise she normally carried.
 
It only half worked, and she knew it when the woman smiled hastily and her eyes searched her. The question came and she cleared her throat. “I am good, just sore. I was sparring yesterday.” She left it at that, though there was the way that her breath caught in her throat as she moved over. “Thank you so much for the pelts. They will help make things more comfortable for the soldiers while they are recuperating from injuries.” She never considered the fact that she’d likely need to treat Glaukos at some point… perhaps there was a way to use it as a learning experience for Malila. She did not feel comfortable being alone around him.
 
“I believe… you wanted a story as well, yes?” She was changing the subject, and she prayed the woman would ask no more of it as she had once promised to do.

There was a hum and she nodded, directing the beds to all be laid in a circular type pattern around the pool near the back. It was easier if they had access with ease to that as well, and would make for less of a muddy mess around other parts of the den as well. It was a quick work, and Aquene smiled gratefully to the woman for that as well.
 
She settled on the one next to her, her paws kneading lightly at it before she settled down, the woman’s ears attentive. “I was thinking I could tell you a story I was told by my mother… a story that she used to describe the creation of wolves like you and I when I was a young pup.” She suggested with a wag of her tail.
 
Yes, she was fine. This was certainly a good enough distraction and Tamar was excellent company for her to avoid her own issues.

A story trade! It sounded so wonderful, and she offered a welcoming grin to such a notion, nodding eagerly in turn. She waited patiently as Aquene recalled the details. She wanted to convey it with such accuracy. “It is a bit of a child’s tale… at least, I think it is…” She prefaced before she began.
 
“The first wolf’s name was Ymir. He fell from the heavens in the shape of a falling star, and when he touched the ground, life sprang from every corner of the world. The trees grew in his presence, wild florae and faunae thrived… and all was good. He wanted the earth, the land, and the sea… but as time went on, he fell lonely.” She tried to hit the exact exclamations her mother had, using that same warm but fascinating tone she had recalled falling from her lips.
 
“The stars saw this, saw his loneliness, and another star fell from the sky. Her name was Freya. She was created in image of him, for him… a partner, someone with whom he could share a deeper connection.” She explained further, recalling picturing Freya as her own mother, created in her image. “Freya was a fierce warrior. She taught the man to hunt, to fight… and how to tend to his wounds afterwards. Without her, wolves would not have the skills that they had today.”

She could tell she had the woman’s full attention, and it made her for a moment feel like she was living up to the expectations she had placed on herself to tell the story with the same fervor her mother had. She grinned wide at the statement though a hint of sadness lingered in her eyes. Fear of Freya had been a huge part of the decision her father had made to not let women train, even if he never voiced it aloud. It had been her mother to tell her that. “I like to think so too, though in my experience, men fear a powerful woman, and will do anything to bring her down.” She had seen it time and time again.
 
She strove to be like Freya, even if she could not possibly compare. She listened intently as she explained the differences in their culture, a soft smile on her features. “I think there is merit in both…” She admitted, her head tilting to the side with a conspiratorial grin. “I’d argue some men appear tame but are far more wild than they let on.” In that moment, she thought back to her night with Kallik, the way she knew he shut himself down around others but the way he could simply be so free like Ymir when they were alone. Men were complicated.

There was certainly still a part of Aquene that felt awkward speaking of any man in these terms… but her conversation with Towhee had opened her up a little bit. Perhaps it did not have to be an awkward line of conversation, even expressing such thoughts aloud made her feel… dirty. Perhaps it was the way that she had been raised: a prude pushover. Either way, it was something she could grow into her own with.
 
She smiled warmly at the mention of the Matrona. “Lady Ruenna is kind, and welcoming, and warm but not without her own tactics… a sharp mind and a good heart. It is a rare combination to see in a matriarch.” She had only seen it once before, in her mother, and even the thoughts now brought a hint of sadness. “She is a perfect fit for the Imperator.” No doubt as of right now both of them agreed.
 
The question came, and she could not help but glance at her paws. “I do not know…” She’d had a wild man before, unwillingly… such violence and unpredictability scared her… and yet Kallik was wild in his own way and she cared for him very much. He was cold and distant while doing his job, but under the surface, there was something more. “I want a man who will see me for me… not for what I can give him. Not an object, a wolf.” And she liked to think she had found that. “And I think I might have found one, but it’s too soon to tell.”

The question sent a flutter into her stomach, a shy and bashful smile on her features. “I think he does.” She knew he did; he had told her himself. The statement came and her smile softened in a more relaxed and familiar one, edging out of the shyness that often overcame her in these topics. “Some say doctors are the most socially awkward of us all. We spent all of our time with heads in the plants instead of learning things like how to talk to men and flirt.” She offered back because lord knew she had certainly failed in that aspect.
 
Still, he managed to like her aimless aloofness that overcame her at random times. She hoped to find such loyalty as Tamar had faith she would fine. “The man I speak of I am… sort of seeing? Marriage is far too large a commitment… but we are courting.” She stated if only to confirm the suspicions the other woman unknowingly had, but more of to make her own availability for such a thing clear. She did not know how long it would be before she was ready for something as drastic as marriage.
 
It was her question that was the most complicated to answer. “I do not know. She was not fond of the idea originally… offended the Matrona with an outlash about it even… but I think it was a heat of the moment and the shock of being presented the options of fight or marry.” Aquene confessed honestly. “I think if she finds one she cares for, she might… but I do not think it will be something she seeks out.” But that was just Aquene’s opinion.

tamar was pleased for her friend. 

she laughed softly at the other's jesting. "i can teach you how to flirt." akashingo had not been without its own lessons. but aquene revealed that this was more than a first fancy; that they were courting one another. "if you are seeing him like that, then perhaps you should be sure."

tamar wondered if they had already laid together. "does the matrona know?" she would not want the healer to risk a scolding. the girl hesitated. did she need to know, if aquene and this man were not living with one another?

"i must get to know her. she has a good deal of ambition for a girl so young." the wife gave a little smile and straightened with a sigh. "i think i am going to bring you a meal." her brow arched; she would not be argued with.

She couldn’t help but laugh softly at the woman’s promise to teach. “I don’t know… I think I’m a bit of a lost cause, Tamar.” She stated it because she felt it was the truth. “I think I’m more comfortable talking about infection and pus than I am flirting.” It was a brutal truth that she had proven in her conversations with Towhee.
 
Her next question was a little more complicated. “I think..? She knows we are close… I did not use any certain terms but it also was not necessarily difficult to infer.” She explained awkwardly, dancing around the details that exist in her mind. “I plan to address it fully, just today has been hectic. It’s a recent development.”
 
She breathed in for a moment and then exhaled. “Yes, she’s got a great deal of ambition. I can’t wait to see how she turns out.” She wanted to keep an eye on her development within Mereo, not just because she was her apprentice, but also because she saw quite a bit of herself in the girl. Her eyes widened for a moment at the insistence of the woman. “I… okay.” Her confusion and shock lingered, clearly not expecting it, but clearly she thought twice of arguing with the woman. She seemed so… determined?