it took time, but sobeille returned.
she avoided the grotto. even from the cliffs she felt the rank exhale of the spirit's unsettled breath -- and fancied that out of her peripherals, she occasionally saw yellow.
but this was no errand for loa. sobeille had found something -- and knowing its discovery was not safe at home, stole down the rocky cliffs to cache it in a land few dared inspect too closely.
The forests that grew at the tops of the cliffs were filled with the scent of sequoias, dashed with a hint of salt wafting in from the sea. It mixed together and created a climate that was dense and humid.
Andr hadn't expected this change in atmosphere when he saw the tall trees in the distance and sought them out. Such a spectacle of nature was sure to draw in prey, Andr thought, but now amongst the towering giants of red bark, he allowed himself to move more slowly.
His senses were still sharp, but if his lunch happened to scamper away it would not be a completely lost day. However what caught his attention in the distance was not prey, but lupine.
sobeille sped onward in her errand, a furskin satchel carried in her jaws. from its folds, the faintest scent of sweet musk.
a stranger crossed her path. sobeille saw the shadow before she saw him -- his fur was the rich auburn of the sequoias, his broad face framing a pair of ice-blue eyes.
she froze for a second, registering him -- and then, like a thief, bolted towards the mouth of the grotto.
A young dark brown girl stood before him in the distance. A dark mask framed her small face. In her jaws was something foreign and unfamiliar.
With a faint smile on his face he began his introduction "Hel..." but before he could even truly begin she darted off. He was shocked. He hoped he hadn't scared her, but her expression seemed more mischievous than fearful.
"Hey!" he called out before beginning to follow after her. Capturing her scent in his trained nose and picked up an additional sweet scent atop of it.
somewhere behind her the chestnut male's voice sounded into the forest. she ignored it, pressing into a long gallop that he all too easily kept pace with.
sobeille had every intention of darting into the grotto to shake her pursuer, but well before she reached the threshold, the contents of her makeshift satchel fell from her mouth.
shit! she reeled around, eyes wide as the parcel's contents spilled into the snow. sobeille tensed with breathless anticipation, wondering what the man would do.
The girl ran and ran, but Andr more than kept pace, slowly closing the gap between the two.
But then, leaves flew threw the air. One here and there, and then a grouping of them which caught the eye of the girl. She halted her course and turned around eyeing the contents that had fallen out of her pouch and then to Andr.
As she stopped so did he. A few paces still between them. It was this moment of pause and Andr had a chance to listen to his head rather than his instincts. What the hell was he doing? Chasing after a child? He felt silly, and something else that was a mix of embarrassment and shame.
He looked down to the ground and picked up a few of the first stray leaves, holding them loosely at the end of his mouth. "I'm sorry if I startled you. I... I think I just wanted to say Hello." he said before taking slow steps towards the larger group of fallen leaves and added the few strays he had to them.
to her great surprise, when she halted her pursuer did too. sobeille sized him up with an indignant huff, her fur quilled.
what did he want? her heart hammered in the confines of her breast. in her mind, a warning sounded its klaxon blare: beware of strangers, do not trust dem in the voice of her mother.
he reached for the petals and sobeille's eyes danced. did he know? she exhaled through her lungs, steeling the last of her fear away for something far more clinical. oh. hello.
she did not trust him, but maybe she could get him to trust her. a far more dangerous arrangement. she placed the ruddy satchel to the ground, allowing him to collect each petal and place them back within the pelt. dey be for my maman. would you like some?
She was initially started and on the defensive. Understandable given the circumstances. He was happy to see her loosen up, even if it was just a little bit, following his explanation. Had he been in the same circumstance, he wasn't so sure he'd be as willing.
The satchel she held was placed on the ground and she gestured to it for him. he moved towards it slowly, not wanting to startle her, and placed the few leaves he had with the others. Her words were not fully formed, around 90% accurate. "Your mother? Mama?" he asked looking for clarification.
"Thank you for your offer" he said genuinely with a smile, happy to see a young lady and her manners. "Are they food or medicine?" he asked her.
yes, my maman.
sobeille repeated solemnly, doe-eyed stare resting on the man as he placed several leaves back in her cache.
she allowed herself to relax a little more after seeing the smile that sunned his features. it suited the warm color of his fur. dey are treatsies.
sobeille lied, a cheery optimism in her voice reminiscent of a grandmother she had never known. without batting an eye, she pushed the returned leaves back to him.
it occurred to her she didn't actually know what dosage would kill a wolf. she had seen maleah eat only a crumb of the ground leaf-powder. perhaps two leaves would be more than sufficient. you grind dem up and mix with water or your food. my maman's friend showed me how.
a half-truth -- just enough of the real truth there to obscure the lie.
A treat ground up and mixed with water or food. A medic or a chef might have been able to spot the red flags. Something added to meat might have been a spice, but spices weren't generally mixed with water and eaten on their own. But eating and drinking were the two ways one might consume medicines... or poisons. Unfortunately for Andr he possessed neither specialty and the sweet smile on this young lady's face was giving nothing away. "That is very neat" he replied.
"Why don't we both have some? I could escort you safely back to your mother and we can have some then." She appeared to be right in that between age of being able to be on her own and still needing supervision. Heck, he'd only wanted to say hello and had still chased her down. She'd be easy work for someone with ill intentions.
sobeille was at a crossroads. if she took the male up on his offer, she’d likely die; and if she refused, she might rouse suspicion.
did he know, and that was why he’d offered to split it? sobeille studied him out of the corner of her eye with newfound misgiving.
dere be only enough for a lil snack. is okay — i already ate.
sobeille answered after a pause, thinking herself rather clever for such a solution. she parsed from the contents two shriveled petals, which she patted solemnly into the snow. my maman will probably wonder where i am soon - i don’ t’ink she wants visitors.
it was spoken softly, as if a reluctant observation — but sobeille had no intention of returning home. t’anks for ‘elpin’ me.
she bent to pick up the peltskin, hoping she might see him eat the petals, but recognizing a failed mark was possible. if that was the case, it was best to get out of dodge soon.
Andr thought this little wolf cute. Her less-than-flawless attempts to poison him were seen as a young mind wondering, hopping from the next thoughts to the next, forgetting what they had stemmed from. These herbs were meant for her mother, at least that's what the little wolf had said from the start. "That's kind of you but these are for your Mama, remember?" he asked as an adult leaving a hint for a young wolf to pick up. "I'll take a little, just as you have. But the rest you bring straight home to Mama. Understood?" he picked up two leaves just as she had, but given her description it didn't cross his mind to eat them raw, as they should be prepared with food or water.
She didn't accept his offer of an escort but he felt better knowing she planned to head home. It made him think that it must not be too far away. "And if anything gives you trouble between here and home just howl out for Andr and I'll come to help. Okay?" he said, a passive introduction to his name.
sobeille breathed a sigh of relief. she did not detect suspicion in the man -- so that meant she was home free, right?
a greediness glinted briefly in her eyes as she saw him take the petals. she looked down to her feet, pretending to busy herself with collecting the last of the satchel. mmokay.
sobeille nodded diligently, trying her best to imitate a star pupil. she was only slightly disappointed she would not see the result -- but, as she would learn sooner rather than later, sometimes it was better to get out of dodge.
picking up the satchel gently, sobeille looked at the man one final time. his eyes were kind and soft - none of the measured bite of a cynical wolf in them. she would not forget them, though she wondered when wolves died if their eyes lost their softness.
bai-bai.
sobeille mumbled between a clutch of furskin. she shouldered the bulk of the weight against her backside and began to totter away, subtly keeping an ear out behind her for anything else the man might say.