In traversing the basin the priestess found something very pleasing to her. A wolf skull sans its jaw bone, surrounded by scattered bones; a fairly recent addition to the basin, she determined. It would have been a terrible death, and for that Candle was sorrowful. It reminded her of what she'd done. That wolf, the way she'd writhed and gurgled...
But what else could she do?
If it was not them, it would be her. It would be Zoug and S'ari and Ko'a bleeding their lives into the sand. For the sake of The Tribe, Candle hoped fiercely that all of the wolves would find themselves here; that they would find their end here. She took the wolf skull and headed once again for the place where the wolves were gathered. It would be a warning to them: leave in peace, or become one with the desert.
Either way, those she loved would be safe. Candle would make sure of it.
The whispers of the plains faded into nothing behind him as Talisman walked his new path. It involved retracing his steps back to the lowlands, seeking out his kin. There were several females living in The Tribe, women who might carry his offspring someday.
His feet grew very weary by the time he found his way back to the arid sprawl of Naaghai. Rather than make his way directly to the distant ravine, the coyote returned to the familiar river. Talisman took a long drink and soaked his paws. The water was so shallow that he could walk right in the current, headed southward.
Ahead, he saw a great bowl in the dry earth. Before he could properly register its depth and breadth, Talis spotted a figure making its way out of the basin. His glacial eyes tracked its movements before he suddenly realized he recognized it.
Candle!
he called out, leaping out of the stream and shaking out his rusty paws as he began moving toward her. Words fell from his lips, punctuating his hurried footsteps. I’m so glad I ran into you! I’m back to—whoa, what is that?
Near the edge of the basin he found her; Talisman, the man who had come with her and had not stayed! Candle had been greatly disappointed, but was nonetheless delighted at his return. She trotted toward him without a single thought for what she carried — until he asked after it.
Candle dropped the skull at his feet, rolling it so that he could see it more clearly for himself. It was wolven, not one of their own, and so she thought little of showing it to him. Talis! You well?
She inquired eagerly, proud of how her speech was beginning to improve. She would have to demonstrate this improvement to Zoug and S'ari sometime, she thought.
She dropped the skull. Talis stared at it for a beat, particularly its long, yellowed fangs. It belonged to a canine of some sort. Had she scavenged it, perhaps in the basin she’d just left? No explanation was forthcoming.
I, ah,
Talis answered, eyes cutting from her macabre souvenir to her face, I thought on it some more and I decided I might be interested in joining The Tribe after all. But I feel like I should be candid about something,
he continued, taking a breath, something I just discovered about myself, actually…
But before he got into that, he couldn’t stop looking at the skull. Its empty eye sockets seemed to look right back at him. The coyote’s pale hackles prickled warily.
Where’d you get it? And what’re you planning on doing with it?
he couldn’t help but wonder aloud.