@Dovev
Her ebony coat blew in the frigid wind that surrounded the land. Rain seemed to be coming soon, but the midnight colored dame did not care about it. Her emerald optics shimmered in happiness as she came upon a lake, not that large but wide enough for fish to swim in the confines of the water. She licked her chops as her salmon colored tongue slid across her lips, soon going back into her mouth as she watched the fish swim freely as if they did not have a care in the world. With a small huff, she placed her head on her paws and began to think about life.
He hadn't thanked Esperanza for fixing his leg. Although the thought hadn't been dwelling for very long, Dovev did notice the rather curt response she got when he and Fal had returned. Now, the male had picked up on the ebony healer's scent and decided now was the time, rather than put it off and forget about it.
With the strong autumn wind pulling on his fur, Dovev crossed down from the southern ridges of the creek, feeling the temperatures drop as the air blew a blanket of rainy gray clouds across the sky. They were beginning to converge, promising a deluge within the day. But the white wolf had spotted Esperanza laying at creekside, and he slowed to a halt. It was obviously her, but Dovev couldn't tell if she was sleeping, or merely resting, so he would wait to see if she would acknowledge him.
Her eyes soon opened, eyes keeping watch on the terrain that cut throughout the stream that she had been focused on keeping watch over. She was making sure that no one would come and try to hurt her in any way, such as Dovev had been hurt by the brown bear that had come and threatened him and Falwasi, if that was them by chance. Her memory was starting to seem a bit off as she listened to the sounds of geese that seemed to already begin to start to migrate. It was early for them to start to migrate, so perhaps it would be a mad winter.
She soon could smell the familiar scent of a pack mate. She turned her head to see the white brute whom she had recognized as Dovev, a small smile coming over her as she stood and approached him. Her eyes looked to the wound that seemed to already begin to scar over, which was a good sign that he would be alright. Her emerald optics met his own. "Good day, Dovev, can I help you with something?"She would ask him and listen to the sounds of the geese that echoed through her lobes, "Your wound seems to be healing well, but, you should try and keep it easy a little bit more. Even though the wound has a scar, who knows what might happen next."
So, she wasn't sleeping. Dovev was met with the female's light green eyes as she lifted her head from her paws. Esperanza didn't seem moody or sad as he had originally guessed, and so guessed she was probably feeling pensive or thoughtful. But, her eyes held clarity, and didn't have the usual distant glaze when a wolf was lost in thought.
He stopped and sat down in the grass, lifting his ears lazily towards the creek.
Good afternoon- and I was just hoping I didn't catch you in the middle of some sort of meditation, he replied with a noncommittal flick of his tail. I promised I would keep off the leg, and now it's healing fine. Dovev glanced at her. He was glad to have caught her alone, as it seemed any time he came across her scent, Star was usually close behind. They seemed to be good friends.
Actually, that's why I came to see you. I wanted to thank you for helping it. It was a little hard for the warrior to bear his thanks to the healer, for being a proud creature, any wound was a dent on his spirit.
Esperanza smiled at Dovev and stood up, meeting the brute's topaz gaze as she could tell something might be bothering him, but she did not intrude on the subject due to rushing into things with him. He was handsome in her eyes, but did not wish to say anything she might regret. "It is my job to heal others, you do not have to thank me for anything. If you ever need anything or just need someone to talk to, you're always welcome to speak with me. I apologize for not acknowledging you beforehand when you first came here, I was just being one with nature and with spirits. Many think I am crazy for believing in spirits, but it had been the way I knew how to heal the sick and injured that I have met on my travels." Esperanza soon realized she was ranting and soon shut her mouth before she bored Dovev to death.
The male had taken a seat on the soft grass that spanned upwards and towards tall stands of trees. His fur was fluffed up against the chilly wind and curled comfortably about his skin. Esperanza didn't seem to mind the cold, either.
I fear your talk of spiritual things might be lost on me, Dovev replied, biting down on his lower lip. He did feel appreciative that the pack had such a healer who would provide emotional and supportive counseling to the group. He hadn't come across any wolves, besides Cadfael's little outburst at the meeting, who were unhappy and acting strange. It was one of the many sources of pride Dovev felt for Swiftcurrent. Everyone was wholeheartedly committed to the betterment of the pack. But when Esper moved into the topic of things beyond the physical world, Dovev couldn't help but feel lost.
Esperanza looked to Dovev and gave a compassionate smile to him. Her emerald eyes meeting his own. "The connection with other animals and as well as the plants and everything else that helps bring balance, that was what I was told in my other family." She looked to the sky and began to hum a gentle and beautiful melody that she hummed when she was back with her old family.
He had never heard a wolf hum before. Dovev sat for a moment, letting Esperanza lose herself in a tune as his awkward pause stretched. With a twitch of his nose, he opened his mouth to reply.
So you're an animist? the male questioned. It was similar to his relative's beliefs by the sound of it, where spiritual power stemmed from the perfect balance of nature living in harmony. But for Dovev, fate was only the guiding force in his life.
Esperanza chuckled and smiled at Dovev. She liked this male, for he seemed friendly enough to be around, and listened to her wish when his leg was in dire need of help and healing. Her emerald optics shifted over to his own as she nodded her head, "If you wish to call me that. I am the last healer from my pack. for my pack had many spiritual healing properties, so I have seen many die or become to weak to carry on in the pack and just left. I try to think that everything has balance, and has a soul. For we may be different, but we must learn to accept other's differences and just...be balanced," she could not come up with the right words and kicked herself for sounding stupid to the higher ranked wolf whom acknowledged her presents not even a couple minutes ago.
"There are many fish here, would you perhaps like one?" She asked as she placed her snout into the frigid liquid, making sure to keep her nose out of the water as she breathed through her nose, causing small bubbles and ripples to form from the top of the water. Before long, a large bass went to see what was going on as she snapped down upon the prey, placing her paw on the fish and biting down on the bones as the fish soon became lifeless. "Thank you," she would say and pushed the fish over to Dovev, a friendly smile upon her face.
Doesn't seem like a bad way to live, Dovev reflected, his eyes leaving her to wander over the autumn landscape.
The fall colors that were common last month had turned gray and bleak. With bare branches, the trees looked like they were solemnly anticipating the first snows of winter.
The male was a little bothered by Esperanza's descriptions of spiritual healing; it reminded him too much of his family, and specifically, his daughter. He fell quiet, but the black female had drifted away towards the bank of the water. The wolf stepped into the clear, shallow stream, and Dovev watched silently as Esperanza speared some sort of bass or trout of the water.
Cool, he alluded, nose wrinkling with the salty smell. The tundra wolf hadn't eaten fish in quite a while, remembering the small herring, salmon, and halibut they would catch in the north. He didn't want to offend her, and so Dovev offered a tentative bite out of the dorsal area of the bass.
Esperanza smiled happily that he had decided to eat a bit of the fish that had been offered to him. Her emerald optics focused on his wound, making sure that it had not become infected once more before the scar had occurred, and finding nothing, she focused back on the sky and closed her eyes. The sounds of the world around her reverberated inside her lobes, her nose twitching whenever a new scent had entered.
"I am glad to see that you're better, Dovev," She would say to the alabaster brute before her. The ebony dame did have a small crush on the obsidian colored male, but, just like in her old pack before she came to Swiftcurrent, it was the male that said something to the woman about love, not the dames, so she just left it at that and did not announce her feelings to him since they had only met a couple times. She did not wish to also rush into things.
The fish was a little slimy in his mouth but good, the meat fresh and cool from the river. Dovev didn't want to impede on the healer's catch and stepped back, knowing that there was other food to find that he didn't have to share with anyone else.
You healed it, so thank you, Dovev reminded her, rising to his feet. The male wanted to keep walking, reinvigorating his back leg. The territory was east, and he wanted to get on with his patrol. Stretching, the male nodded to her.
I will see you later? He was already moving away, coming to stand in the creek. He would have to cross it in order to get back to the Creek's borders.
Esperanza looked to the brute and nodded, "You'll be seeing me around a lot if you injure yourself a lot," she teased in a playful way and soon stretched, beginning to head back to pack lands as she watched Dovev leave for his patrol, giving a small blush when she saw the alabaster man go his way, and she on her own.